Asunder
by Ziltoid
Summary: In a world where Itachi truly wiped out every last Uchiha, Zetsu is at a loss for what to do: after all his schemes to resurrect Kaguya, he suddenly lost his most useful minions. Drastic measures were needed to acquire Uzumaki Naruto. Starts shortly after the Tsunade retrieval arc. Rated M for future romance, language, and bloodshed. Mokuton!Naruto. AU
1. Resurrection

**The obligatory disclaimer and warning thingy:** Lo and behold, here is another writer of fanfiction who doesn't own Naruto. I do, however, claim ownership over the few original characters, as well as the weird plot I've invented for this story- not that my claims result in me getting paid. Oh well, such is the harsh fate of a fanfic writer. I do happily accept the donation of reviews though, and the help of **Illuminated** , my beta-ing partner in crime!

Please note that this story is rated 'M', for mature audiences, as it _will_ contain explicit language and adult themes (lemons will be preceded by warnings). Among the adult themes are the untimely deaths of several named characters. I will say this only once: I do not detest any character that I kill in my stories.

"Talk," a character talks.  
' _Think_ ,' a character thinks.  
" **Talk** ," a bijuu talks. Or Black Zetsu, for the sake of distinguishing him from White Zetsu.

* * *

 **Asunder**

 **Chapter One**

 **Resurrection**

* * *

" _What matters in life is not what happens to you but what you remember and how you remember it."_

― Gabriel García Márquez

* * *

A parody of a human being, that is how one could describe the entity that rose from the ground, with its right half black and left half white, encased in what seemed like two Venus-flytrap-like leaves which emerged from its sides. This entity was called Zetsu. Or rather, its white half was 'Shiro-Zetsu', while the black half was 'Kuro-Zetsu'. The white half was a silly chatterbox, carefree and playfully blundering his way through life, while the black half was serious and knowledgeable. The two were distinctly different entities, yet somehow 'one' at the same time. After all, the parasitic black half needed a host to survive on, and to carry on the will of his 'mother'. The countless clones of the white half were well suited for his plans.

"The way you can just grow from the roots is interesting," a gravelly voice welcomed him. "You sure those white things don't have a heart?"

"How rude," White Zetsu pouted.

" **Shut up, fool,"** Black Zetsu silenced his other half. **"You were quite… thorough, Kakuzu."**

"You knew that before you hired me," the S-rank missing-nin from Takigakure shrugged. He was probably one of the few people who Zetsu knew who wasn't even fazed at the sight of his strange plant-like body. Then again, Kakuzu was rather peculiar himself as well. A battle had just ended, and the black threads which grew from Kakuzu's body, due to the kinjutsu Jiongu, were still stitching his wounds.

"Seems like you had quite a fight. **Of course he did, it was Hatake Kakashi who opposed him.** "

"He was definitely someone who had earned the right to carry such a bounty," Kakuzu admitted, his voice virtually devoid of any emotion except a slight annoyance. Kakashi had, after all, taken out two of Kakazu's hearts. "Good thing that he had an affinity for raiton. He skewered my lightning-heart, so having a way of replacing it right away is quite convenient. Now, all I need is a water-heart. You don't happen to have an affinity for suiton?"

"No! **We told you we don't have a heart. Nor organs.** We can't even poop!"

Kakuzu lifted the corpse of a grey-haired shinobi from the ground. The jonin from Konoha had put up quite the fight, but in the end, Kakuzu had been the one who had the greater reserves. It had taken an annoyingly long time before the Hatake had finally run out of chakra, though. The deaths of his 'cute little genin' had sent him into a fury that had cost Kakuzu his first heart. The annoying Chidori had cost him a second.

"Fifty million ryo, thirty without his sharingan," Kakuzu became uncharacteristically happy, or whatever passed for happiness for the miserly man, at the idea of the money he had just earned.

"Keep the eye. **We don't need it.** Still not sure why we want the boy, though. **He's pivotal to our plans.** "

"The black-haired boy?" Kakuzu wondered. "His abilities with ink were quite unusual, but nothing special. The Yamanaka boy was stronger, but lacked any special ability."

"Naruto-kun is no Yamanaka," the whiter half of Zetsu giggled.

"Blond, wears the clan symbol, and… hmm, now that you mention it, he didn't use their techniques," Kakuzu frowned slightly while putting on his cloak again. "Why him?"

" **You killed the pink haired girl instantly, but kept the boys alive like we asked. Good work.** But only barely, his body is nearly severed in two. **His wounds don't matter. We've regrown Tobi after the Obito disaster, remember?** Oh, so you're going to use the new Tobi just like the old one? It's still sad that he and the Uchiha died. **Uchiha Itachi was an annoying impediment to our plans.** "

"The way you two keep arguing with yourselves is annoying. I'm going to cash in this corpse."

"Keep the money for yourself, Kakuzu. **Yeah, the other members of Akatsuki don't need to know about this.** It's our little secret. **It is. We have plans for the boy, and Pein doesn't need to know. Not to mention what Orochimaru would do. Ever since Itachi ended the Uchiha bloodline he has shown a great interest in the bloodlines of old.** He might even find out a secret or two. **But it will be futile in the end. We trust you, Kakuzu, because you only trust in money and don't care about anything else.** We can always locate new prey for you, as long as we can feed on the worthless casualties- like the black hair and that pinky."

Kakuzu grumbled something under his breath, about the foul eating habits that the plant-like shinobi displayed. It wasn't that he really cared about what happened to the boy and the girl. They were unnecessary, not worth a single ryo, and Zetsu only wanted the blond boy.

Leaving his unsavory companion to his 'dinner', Kakuzu stalked off to the nearest bounty station. Fifty million ryo was waiting to be collected, after all. Zetsu truly had his uses, bounty hunting had never gone as smoothly.

* * *

A spiral-patterned white man rose from the ground, eerily similar to the way Zetsu had travelled through the earth and roots. Of course, Tobi was just another manifestation grown from the Gedo Mazo (Demonic statue of the outer path). Originally human, he had been a victim of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, absorbed into the Shinju (God Tree), just like white Zetsu. Stored within the Gedo Mazo, 'Tobi' had remained dormant and forgotten for centuries, trapped within the moon along with the statue. That is, until Uchiha Madara awoke the rinnegan and summoned the statue. He was the one who had freed Tobi from his centuries of slumber, enabling him to grow a body from the wood-like tissue of the Gedo Mazo.

Well, Madara had foolishly believed that they had been grown from the tissue of Senju Hashirama, the Shodaime Hokage, but that had been a lie. In truth, Tobi was compelled to be loyal to only one entity. Captured and mutated due to her actions, Tobi was loyal to the 'will' which Otsutsuki Kaguya had left behind: her son, of sorts, Black Zetsu, was the one who secretly commanded all the beings grown from the statue. But they lacked the power to resurrect Kaguya on their own, which led to them submitting their selves, even if it was under false pretenses, to the will of someone far stronger.

Madara had been the first human who had reached a level that approached the perfection of Kaguya. He was the first to strive for power to such a degree that he almost retraced it to its origin. He had even understood the necessity of Hashirama's chakra and tissue, which had led him to the rinnegan. But it had been too late for the man; too old, too feeble, he had only prolonged his life by leeching off the Gedo Mazo.

He was pathetic; too pathetic for the plans of Black Zetsu, which was why they had manipulated Madara into giving the rinnegan to a boy who had inherited the blood of the younger son, hoping that he would prove to be easier to manipulate. Unfortunately, that had proven a mistake. Much like Ashura himself, Nagato was too deluded by the notion of love. Even though loss eventually twisted his love into something darker, Nagato had turned out to be too difficult to control.

As such, Zetsu had been happy when they had stumbled upon a nearly-dead Uchiha boy. Taking him in, Tobi had enveloped the boy, slowly turning him into something greater. They needed a champion. The death of Madara, now devoid of his rinnegan, was merely a matter of time. The boy's sharingan had already evolved into the mangekyo sharingan, granting him the useful abilities of intangibility and what was effectively teleportation.

All had seemed to go according to plan, until Itachi happened. Removing the Uchiha clan had mostly been a desire of Uchiha Obito, the boy that Zetsu had found. But it was also Zetsu's wish that Konoha was weakened. It was easier to operate without being detected during times of war, after all. What had driven the boy to do it was something Zetsu had never discovered, but somewhere along the line, Itachi had snapped… perhaps it was murdering his parents, perhaps it was the death of his girlfriend, or perhaps his little brother. Zetsu didn't know, didn't really care either. All that mattered was that Itachi had taken Obito out of the game. Whatever the sealing technique with that spectral blade had been, not even Obito was able to escape it. Obito, who even had managed to escape the Yondaime Hokage, was gone.

Black Zetsu had spent centuries manipulating the Uchiha, and one boy had undone all those efforts. The bloodline had ended. The only remnants of the entire clan were the few eyes that remained. Zetsu knew that Orochimaru had a few of them, and Hatake Kakashi had also possessed one. But it wasn't enough. A few eyes weren't enough to recreate the bloodline. The eyes, without the bodies, were flawed.

The death of Obito had also meant the death of Tobi, who had merged with the wounded body of the Uchiha. Regrowing Tobi from the Gedo Mazo had been a laborious task, due to Zetsu's limited chakra reserves, but it had eventually been done. The new Tobi entirely lacked any memories from the old one, but at least he had the same abilities.

" **Tobi, you're late**. I sent a clone but couldn't find him right away."

"Whazzup!" the fully white Tobi exclaimed. If possible, this Tobi was an even greater fool than the old one, a fact which Black Zetsu often reiterated to him. The spiral-pattern that stretched all over his body gave Tobi a completely different appearance from the plant-like Zetsu. The fact that Tobi was literally hollow – perhaps explaining his lack of intelligence – was also unique. While Zetsu was akin to a flytrap that could consume flesh, Tobi was created to encase a human and to sustain it.

" **Quit fooling around. The boy is only barely alive**. Even that odd chakra is running out. **He's a jinchuriki, you idiot.** Oh, so that's why he's still alive! **What other reason could there be? Kakuzu practically cut him in two. His legs are gone, and his torso is damaged to a degree where no normal human would remain alive for more than a minute. We should thank our old friend, the Kyuubi.** "

"I thought the Kyuubi hated you?" Tobi tilted his head as a way to show his surprise.

" **I was being sarcastic, airhead.** Yeah, the Kyuubi always despised mother. He was way too loyal to her son. **He is one of Hagoromo's creations.** And we were created by mother."

"Should I, you know, merge with him?"

" **What other reason could there be for me to call you here?** "

"Perhaps you missed me?" Tobi seemed to seriously consider the question, ignoring the deadpan expression on Zetsu. His inability to understand Black Zetsu's sarcasm was rather appalling. "Or perhaps you found me a dinner? You know I don't eat flesh like you do, but a nice-"

"You're an idiot! **That even you have the right to say it is rather telling of how dumb Tobi is.** Hey! Why are you always picking on me?! **Because you're only slightly less of an idiot than Tobi. Quit stalling, envelop the boy!** "

"Oki-doki, boss man!"

Yes. Black Zetsu had nearly lost all hope. Without the Uchiha, his schemes seemed to turn into failure. Wandering aimlessly, he had witnessed a battle of two jinchuriki. While he had only gone to Konoha to see how Orochimaru's little scheme to invade Konoha would turn out (it was hilarious to see how Orochimaru had lost his arms), Zetsu had found a strange boy. Or rather, a boy who made him literally feel strange. As if his genetic composition responded to the boy's chakra… such overwhelming Yang chakra.

It was best alternative that Zetsu had. Tobi swallowed the body of the near-dead jinchuriki. Uzumaki Naruto, Zetsu recalled, had been the boy's name. Why he lived within the confines of another clan was something he hadn't figured out, nor why he wore the Yamanaka symbol. Uzumaki usually had red hair, while Naruto was blonde. Perhaps he was part Yamanaka, or perhaps he lived among the Yamanaka in order for the boy to remain unnoticed. His spiky hair was quite unlike the smooth-haired Yamanaka, but at least the color was right.

Tobi opened up, encasing the boy. His white tissue immediately began to grow and contort, stopping the boy from bleeding dry. Like ivy growing into a stone wall, Tobi's plant-like tissue invaded Naruto's flesh. Zetsu had seen it before, although in a different matter. Obito had struggled to control the tissue which Zetsu had given him, after the boy had lost half his body, being crushed underneath the immeasurable weight of stone.

Where Obito had seemed to struggle, almost rejecting the tissues, Naruto seemed to greedily absorb it.

" **So much Yang energy, Tobi's flesh is responding immediately.** Is this why the boy is so interesting? **Just wait and see. Tobi will soon lose the struggle.** Lose? What do you mean? **You feel the same sensation from the boy's chakra, right? Imagine how Tobi must feel. So much vitality…** Poor Tobi."

Black Zetsu couldn't find any pity for Tobi. He had been bred for this task. While Zetsu was able to create as many clones as his chakra tolerated, and had many techniques that specialized in espionage, Tobi was different. Tobi could not create clones. Instead, Tobi had resonated most of all with Hashirama's tissue.

* * *

It had been an extremely bad day for Kurama. One almost equaling the day he had been split in half, to be sealed within the son of the woman he had been sealed in previously. That very child was on the border of life and death, and Kurama had to exert himself to keep the boy alive. The death of the boy would, after all, imply that he died as well. And the Kyuubi had no desire for death, not the least because he did not know what would happen if he died.

It was not that a bijuu could actually die, not by the mortal sense of the word. His body could be destroyed, yes, which was as close to death as the Kyuubi could get. What was more worrisome was that he had lost his Yin half when he was sealed within Naruto. While only having Yang energy, Kurama doubted that he could recreate his body.

Yang could breathe life into form, but Yin was needed to _create_ form.

"Stupid brat!" the enormous fox howled. The light within his prison was slowly dimming, at the same rate as the vigor was slipping out of the boy- and then suddenly, everything changed.

Plants, roots from mighty trees, grew through the sewer that led towards Kurama's prison. The walls were slowly being covered, the ground, normally covered with water, dried up as the foliage soaked it up. A foreign chakra invaded Naruto's body, merging with it, and the remnants of Naruto's chakra responded.

Not that he could be blamed for not trying to stop it. Whatever happened to the boy, it was bad news. The man who had attacked them, who had killed the teacher and the kunoichi, and left Naruto for dead, had obviously acted on orders of something else. Kurama cursed the fact that Naruto's sight had failed when he completely lost consciousness. A blur of black and white was the last thing Kurama had seen through Naruto's nearly closed eyes.

It was bad news indeed.

Whatever it was, if the boy was completely taken over, then Kurama would be at their mercy- which was utterly unacceptable. So when the foreign chakra reached out for the boy's unconscious form, which had been resting right in front of Kurama's prison, the might nine-tailed fox lashed out which his claw. The pull of the foreign chakra increased, but Kurama didn't relent. The boy might be an insufferable miscreant, but he at least left Kurama alone, and whoever it was that tried to take over the boy's body would undoubtedly be worse.

The opposing powers struggled for dominance, with Kurama severely handicapped due to the restrictions which the seal imposed on him. Regardless, Kurama was mighty enough to match the power of foreign chakra. It had the same odd quality which reminded Kurama of Senju Hashirama and his mokuton, but this form of the wood release was incomparably weaker.

Naruto's ego was left dangling between the two powers. Unable to endure, it ripped asunder.

In a moment of desperation, Kurama forced all his chakra through the seal. The might of the fox had been cut in half by Namikaze Minato, but ironically, it was only the Yang energy that Kurama needed right now.

The foreign chakra couldn't handle it, and transformed. The result was a genetic rewrite which Kurama couldn't stop. The boy and the invader became one, except for the part of the boy which Kurama still held in his claws. With the ego of the boy torn asunder, Kurama knew he had to act quickly. That shattered part of the boy's entity was perfect to close off the seal. Whatever the other half of the boy had become, it would not be able to reach Kurama- not without Kurama's permission, at least.

* * *

Zetsu, both halves, continued watching how Tobi merged with the boy.

"Does this kill Tobi?"

" **The boy is nearly dead. Tobi should be the dominant personality. The boy's Yang chakra will only help him gain more power. Tobi's Mokuton would be drastically improved.** "

"Why is mokuton so important?"

Black Zetsu sighed, annoyed by the ignorance of his whiter half. " **Mother's remains, the statue, are composed of wood. So if we can't have a proper Uchiha to control the statue until mother returns, what would be better than someone with the Mokuton kekkei genkai?** "

"Oh, so Tobi is going to turn into super-Tobi. But why? We've got Nagato for that, right?"

" **Jozetsu, you are a moron,** " Black Zetsu reminded him of his nickname 'chatterbox'. Pointless chatter was what seemed to define White Zetsu. He'd rather talk than think, unlike his blacker half. " **Nagato doesn't trust us, and I don't trust him. Nagato dreams of peace, and why would we tell him about our real goals? All we need is a vessel to control the Juubi, until we can resurrect the Shinju. And once that happens…** "

"Mom will be happy to be back!"

" **Hush. Tobi is waking up.** His chakra just now… it was huge. **Yes, it definitely was.** Will it be the same old Tobi? **It should be. Our loyal yet strong puppet."**

Blue eyes fluttered, the swirling mask of Tobi leaving the boy's head free.

"Tobi. **How do you feel?** "

"Who?" the boy muttered after a pause, seemingly surprised by the question. Tobi's 'flesh' kept shrinking, merging with Naruto's body to a greater degree than Zetsu, both black and white, had anticipated. This was nothing like what they had seen with Obito.

" **Stop kidding around, Tobi,** " Black Zetsu growled.

* * *

Pain. The entire body was permeating with a pain that blinded him, that replaced his every thought. Something from outside penetrated his flesh, changing him. Something from within answered, burning and churning, also changing him. He jumbled in between, forgetting who or what he was. A power that was innately his emerged, somehow soothing his pain, comforting him. It replaced the outside force, and subdued the fire from within him. It ended the struggle. Yet at what cost?

A gasp escaped his lips, suddenly aware of the necessity of oxygen. The entire world swirled and shifted, opening up in a way that was foreign to him and yet… ' _I see without eyes. I see the roots of the trees. I see the leaves. I see the vines. I sense everything. And yet I am blind.'_

"Tobi." A voice spoke to him, it sounded rather flippant, as if they knew each other.

" **How do you feel** ," a second, rougher, voice followed after the other, seamlessly. The first was friendly enough, but the other scared him. He somehow felt like he had to listen to it. But when he considered why, he decided to dismiss the feeling.

"Who?" he muttered. Was he Tobi? No, he didn't feel like the name was familiar. The name felt completely foreign, but he couldn't recall who he really was. A vexing thought encroached upon him, the idea that he was… it was so close, he was about to say it, but the knowledge just kept slipping away. The moment he thought that he remembered it, he forgot again.

" **Stop fooling around, Tobi** ," the ill-tempered voice again. The boy tried to move, but that was about as impossible as remembering. The smell of freshly-served ramen made him drool, the warmth of a blonde comforted him, but that was just about everything he knew. There were vague impressions, including of his legs, which currently felt wrong. He didn't know why his legs were wrong, but he just _knew_. Not knowing why only led to more frustration. Or was it that sense of anger and loss that suddenly boiled up for no reason?

Again, he tried to move. Whether he was 'Tobi' or not, he didn't know. But he did want to get up and see what was going on. His legs felt soft like warm butter. His stomach felt odd as well, as if every organ was still rearranging itself. It didn't feel painful, it was just… well, the only impression he knew that could be compared to it was an itch.

He tried to lift his arm, and instead his messed up senses extended to something outside his body.

"Why is he manipulating that tree?" The friendlier voice asked in surprise.

" **He'll need time to adjust**." The other growled.

The strange thing, now that he considered it, was that there were two voices, while he only sensed one body. Realizing he could sense the other, he turned his attention to himself. His body was different from how he remembered, somehow. The vague impressions that he had from the time before waking up told him that something had changed.

"Who am I?" he questioned aloud.

"He seems to have forgotten. **Yes, he remembers nothing, pitiful.** Should we bring him home? **He will be needing time to adjust to the changes.** Is he Tobi or Naruto?"

"Naruto?" the nameless boy liked the sound of that name better than 'Tobi'. 'Naruto' gave him impressions of mischief, orange, and… and something else. The frustration grew, and with it his chakra spiked.

Flowers spouted from their bulbs, bloomed, and perished. Trees shed their leaves and grew new ones. Acorns erupted into small trees. In a matter of seconds, the boy's chakra overflowed the nearby nature. The worst aspect was that Zetsu had to struggle not to lose his own cohesion, as if he too was erupting into a tree. White Zetsu was especially suffering.

" **We're lucky he passed out,** " Black Zetsu mumbled, looking down on the exhausted boy. " **Mokuton… When I witnessed him engage the Ichibi, I knew he could have the potential, with the overwhelming Yang energy he has.** When he used the Kyuubi's chakra, it was as if he was overflowing with life. **Yet I never anticipated him to change so fundamentally.** So even you don't know everything! **Only mother does.** "

* * *

Senju Tsunade regretted the day she had allowed that little blond brat to convince her to go back home. Paperwork was bad, politics were worse, but the absolute worst was when she had sent people on missions and they didn't return. It was over a week, and still no one had heard a thing of Hatake Kakashi and his team. Even Danzo had sworn ignorance of where they were, despite admitting that Sai, one of the genin of team seven, was one of his operatives. Keeping an eye on the jinchuriki of Konoha was something that stood high on the man's agenda. Losing the young Uzumaki would be a harsh blow for the village.

But Tsunade couldn't care all that much about the village right now. Every day that had passed had increased the sense of dread that filled her heart.

' _I made a mistake. I should never have given him that necklace. It is cursed… hurry back home, brat.'_

But Naruto never listened. Sure, he was the second-most flippant subordinate that Tsunade had, only surpassed by the boy's godfather, but she cared too much about the boy to ever punish him for his lack of respect. No other shinobi would leave her office without at least a broken bone or two if he called her 'Baa-chan', but he could- perhaps it was because he resembled Nawaki so much?

Nawaki… the mere thought of her younger brother made her afraid. Day after day passed, but no message from Karachi came. No smiling blond brat barged into her office, unannounced. No disruptions arose within the village due to one of his successful pranks. It gave her a fearful premonition.

In a way, Tsunade was thankful that there still was so much for her to do. The invasion of the combined forces of Otogakure and Sunagakure had left deep scars in Konoha, and as the Hokage she was the one who had to undo much of the damage that her former teammate had caused. But even thinking about the invasion often made her thoughts wander off to Naruto, as he had been the one who stopped Suna's jinchuriki.

Sabaku no Gaara had returned to Suna, and had truly had a change of heart, to the degree that he had practically scared the elders of his village into surrendering. It ended the foolish conflict that had been started only due to Orochimaru's schemes. Reparations, concessions, and re-negotiating the peace treaty were things that would never have gone as smoothly as they did without Gaara's influence. Tsunade hoped that the boy, who was likely the strongest shinobi of Sunagekure, would end up being the next Kazekage. At least he had good intentions towards Konoha.

' _Yes, and when I resign and hand my position to Naruto, he'd have the perfect ally in Gaara.'_

Naruto, Naruto, Naruto… Tsunade wondered how he had wiggled his way into her heart so easily. She, who had distanced herself from practically everyone except Shizune and the pet piglet Tonton, had never thought that she could be swayed so easily- especially not after Dan, her lover, had perished. She had seen his life slip through her hands, just like she had been powerless to do anything to avert Nawaki's death.

' _The most famous healer in the world. Bah, I've done nothing be fail the people I cared most about. It makes me wonder what kind of idiot ever thought that I was fit for this position.'_ Naruto had.

Tired and frustrated, Tsunade took the usual way out. Perhaps she would find some solace in that bottle of sake, or one of the others. Somewhere along the line, she had been so drunk that she had fallen asleep, head down on the desk, drooling over all kinds of important documents. Her head felt like it was splitting, the hangover had already set in, and when she saw the cautious first rays of the morning sun, Tsunade wondered why she had woken up. Sleeping was much better. So, she tried to close her eyes again, doing her best to ignore her headache and her churning stomach.

"Tsunade." Something in his voice made her thoughts of sleep vanish. She shivered, and spurred open her eyes.

"Jiraiya?"

He didn't answer immediately, but something in his eyes, before he had quickly averted his eyes, had filled her with fear. He wasn't looking away because she was dressed indecently, which she was, considering how her blouse had sagged open a little during her little dive into the sake reserves, but there was something else. Her intoxicated brain had some trouble recognizing that voice of his, that expression she had seen before… when he told her…

"No," she whispered. "No… no, don't tell me he is…"

He gently laid a necklace on her desk, the crystal gem still partially covered in a dried-up clot of blood and mud. His voice broke, and she could hear the tears he had shed. "It's all I found, hime."

"It can't… not him… not that brat... he swore to me, he swore he'd never… not before he would be Hokage," she whimpered.

"Someone cashed in the bounty on Hatake Kakashi," Jiraiya whispered, and lay down a scroll in which the man's body rested. Jiraiya didn't want to tell how many throats he had cut to get his hands on the body, nor was Tsunade willing to ask. In fact, she wished he hadn't told her. She didn't want him to say it, that Naruto died. She almost hated him for bringing the news. "I retraced where it happened," he put down two more scrolls. "I found the remains of Haruno Sakura and Sai. And… blood… some parts of… so much blood- the toads… his name vanished from the contract…"

She had no idea when she left her chair, but suddenly she realized he had grabbed Jiraiya by the hem of his shirt, lifting the tall man from the ground with just a single hand. "You're lying," she could hear the desperation in her own voice, making her wonder why she acted like this. It was the risk of their profession, it was… it was what happened to all who wore that accursed necklace. "It's not true. I order you to… order him not to… I won't…"

She broke down in tears, only held up by Jiraiya's gentle embrace. Vaguely she heard as the man lost his restraint as well. She knew how he had cared about Minato, how it had devastated him that Minato had died, and now the man's son, his own godson, had perished. He was even closer to the boy than she ever was, and yet here she was… the mighty Hokage who was bawling her eyes out, only remaining on her feet because a man who was hurting even more had the strength to keep her up.

"It's not fair," she repeated several times. "It can't be Naruto."

But no matter how she wished that Jiraiya told her that it wasn't true, he remained silent.

* * *

The boy woke up again. His body had been broken and restored, but his new tissue had not been his own, at least, not originally. What once had been the frivolous entity known as Tobi was now completely merged with Naruto. However, the current Naruto was not much like the Naruto Uzumaki he had been before his presumed death. The current Naruto could not remember that Naruto. No, all that this Naruto knew were basic things. He had some skills but lacked the memories of how he got them. He knew the words, but had forgotten the people who taught them to him. It was an infuriating situation, only worsened by his lack of mobility. He had to learn how to control his legs, how to move his arms, how to flex any muscle in his body. It made him wonder how much of his body had been destroyed, but when he asked, Zetsu had only vaguely answered.

Considering the color of his skin, Naruto assumed he lost both his legs and at least one of his arms. Much of his torso was now made out of that white goo as well. What once was Tobi was now his tissue, but it was remarkably hard to control. Other things complicated Naruto's situation even more.

Zetsu had been forced to move Naruto to an underground cave, too cold to be filled with vegetation. The problem was that Naruto somehow could not make the distinction between his own body and everything around him. When he tried to move a finger, a nearby tree could randomly move its branches. Or if he tried to stand up, vines erupted from the ground. It was too confusing for the boy, which had forced Zetsu to move him to a place where there was less greenery.

Surrounded by solid rock, Naruto finally made progress. Moving, instinctively solidifying the parts of his body which had once been Tobi… every little step of progress was only accomplished through hard work.

The second step of his progress was gaining control of his newfound kekkei genkai. Through Tobi, who had inherited the ability either from the Gedo Mazo, or through the cloned tissue of Senju Hashirama, Naruto was genetically altered to the degree that he could influence all plants. 'Influence' was the right word at this point because Naruto still had a long way to go before he would be able to claim that he could 'control' anything.

"Seems like you're getting faster. **He's still too slow.** "

"…"

"It's rude to ignore us. **Let him, he should be focusing on his training.** But shouldn't he be looking forward to the news we have?"

"What news?" Naruto sighed. He knew that Zetsu wouldn't stop annoying him until he told Naruto what he wanted. Zetsu was the only person – if he could be considered as such – who visited Naruto in this lone cave. And yet, for some reason, Naruto mostly felt annoyed by the plant-like shinobi.

"We found you a teacher! **One who had first-hand experience on dealing with your kekkei genkai.** Yes, because we don't know how to use it properly. **We lack the necessary vitality and chakra** ," Black Zetsu finished. " **Besides, you need to learn how to do more than just mokuton.** Other skills are useful to, like **suiton or doton** , but fire and wind too! Not too big a fan of lightning, though. It tends to give me a splitting headache. **Stop whining, it was just a clone that died.** But he didn't have to be so uptight! It is your fault for pointing him to that bounty. **Or his own fault for not being quick enough. How could we know that someone else was after that idiot as well?** "

"You're giving me a headache," Naruto grumbled. "As usual, I'd add. Who is this teacher? And does it mean that I can get out of here? Being restricted to this little valley after you finally let me out of that cave is starting to bore me."

"Kakuzu should be here soon," White Zetsu gave the boy a thumbs-up. " **He is not a patient man, so make sure to watch your step.** Or you'll die!"

"Stupid piece of mutated lettuce," Naruto growled after the Zetsu duo sank into the ground. Ever since his release from that empty cave, where he had been fully reliant on Zetsu for food and water, Naruto had seen the moon grow full twice. Still he lived in an awkward shed, an amalgamation of several trees, which, as a testament to his shoddy control, almost looked like it had randomly formed a shelter.

Zetsu came and went according to his own wishes, seemingly taking pleasure in Naruto's growing frustrations. Now that the boy could move around, the torment of not-knowing had only grown worse. That-which-had-once-been-Tobi had merged with the boy, acting as a catalyst for the boy's Yang chakra to affect the nature surrounding him. While the Kyuubi had somehow closed off the seal, with only a bare minimum of chakra leaking out, Naruto had spent his first thirteen years while basking in the creature's chakra.

Luckily, Zetsu believed that it was Naruto's mokuton that was suppressing the Kyuubi, or he might have grown suspicious, Black Zetsu, at least. His whiter half was too stupid to ever notice it.

With Zetsu gone, all that was left for Naruto was patience. Days were wasted on waiting, until Naruto felt someone enter 'his' forest. In this vicinity, Naruto felt everything through the roots and bark of the very trees surrounding him. Then again, the one who entered the forest of this hidden valley had simply too much chakra to _not_ notice.

Much to his frustration, Naruto once again felt something gnawing at his memories. Something about this situation was familiar, but what?

' _Perhaps I've met this Kakuzu before?'_ Naruto sighed. ' _Oh well, he can't be worse than that creepy piece-of-shit crop of lettuce, can he? But why does his chakra make me feel such anger?'_

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Someone once asked me "wouldn't the story of Naruto have been a lot better if there had not been any Uchiha around?" While I don't agree, the notion got me thinking. Not from a bias against the Uchiha, but rather with a focus on the implications it would have for the story. The timing would be of the essence, regarding the point at which the Uchiha would vanish. Regardless, there would only be one major loser in any Uchiha-free scenario. Zetsu. Without an Uchiha to manipulate, how would Zetsu control Akatsuki? How would he reach his final goal of resurrecting Otsutsuki Kaguya?

Eventually, I decided that the night of the Uchiha massacre would be the best point to start the deviation from the manga. Nagato would still get the rinnegan from Madara, Madara still aided Hashirama in founding Konoha, and so on. If I would trace back further, for instance by having Hashirama truly kill Madara and wiping out all the Uchiha, the entirety of Konoha would be changed fundamentally; too fundamentally, for my tastes. So, I let Itachi do it, backstabbing Obito with the Totsuka blade. For the sake of being complete, I assumed that the real Madara died when Nagato summoned the Gedo Mazo, So… how would Zetsu try to revive Kaguya now, when Nagato had very different ideals and Zetsu lacked the power to manipulate him?

The other part of what led to this story was my annoyance at how repetitive most of the fics are with regard to Naruto getting the mokuton kekkei genkai. Practically all of these stories have Tsunade as his (grand) mother, and/or Minato secretly being a Senju. Meanwhile, there is a second source of the wood release, Zetsu, being completely ignored. At least, I never encountered a fic with a similar idea before (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). The manga initially claimed that Zetsu's mokuton was derived from Hashirama, but later on Kishimoto suddenly changed his mind (fickle bastard) and had Zetsu being something far older.

It left me thinking: how could Naruto get the wood release through Zetsu? Well, this chapter is my answer. Much like Obito grew stronger from getting Zetsu's tissue as a replacement for the part of his body that had been crushed, Naruto now got the same thing through 'Tobi'. Please mind that 'Tobi' is just the name of the empty 'swirly Zetsu', and not the alias which Obito used to fool everyone (minus the readers).

This is how 'Asunder' started. I always found the way Naruto could turn the Zetsu clones into trees rather interesting. Well, that and I've got a penchant for weird theories. But those among you who have read my other stories should already be aware of that! As for the name itself was something that came up from a game I played a long time ago, Dragon Age Origins:

 _The limbs, mere meat.  
The torso, but a vessel.  
The head, all but unnecessary.  
The heart, separate, keeps life.  
The heart, safe from the blade, can be restored.  
The heart waits, in the Fade._

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	2. Hunters

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Two**

 **Hunters**

* * *

" _The most terrible poverty is loneliness, and the feeling of being unloved."_

― Mother Teresa

* * *

Naruto had been wrong; very, very wrong. Zetsu was annoying, yes, but at least the scumbag wasn't trying to kill him. Kakuzu, on the other hand, was ready to rip his heart out at the first opportunity he felt annoyed by the young mokuton user. If he was honest, Naruto had no clue about how he had survived the first months.

Contrary to what Zetsu had told him, Kakuzu wasn't much of teacher. His lessons were a matter of trial and error, where errors translated into severe injury, and to any normal person, death. He couldn't count the times where he had narrowly escaped death. So, Naruto tried his best to avoid errors; Kakuzu at least gave him plenty of motivation for that…

It was a harsh method, but one that paid off. When Kakuzu wasn't around, as he was continuing his bounty hunting and had deemed Naruto too weak to tag along, White Zetsu would visit and provide all kinds of scrolls and books. Naruto soon discovered that he could easily learn suiton jutsu. Similarly, he also learned the weaker doton and futon jutsu quite quickly. Kakuzu had mastered every element, although mokuton was something only Naruto could do. Theory was provided by Zetsu, practice taught by Kakuzu, and Naruto worked non-stop to earn his survival- because the further he progressed, the harder Kakuzu tried to murder him.

The price of failure was, after all, not something that Naruto wanted to pay. He hated his situation, but knew no alternative. He didn't remember anything from prior to meeting Zetsu, and was too weak to escape on his own. Kakuzu easily overpowered his every move, and Zetsu… well, there was no escaping from them. It was not as if Naruto didn't hate the sewed-together man enough as it was, and he didn't even know why! Kakuzu had merely laughed when Naruto asked, mumbling something about hoping Naruto would never remember.

It was roughly a year since Naruto's waking up when Kakuzu deemed him ready to join him on the road. Up until that point, Naruto had remained in a hideout or camping somewhere in the wilds, whenever Kakuzu set out for a bounty. Those were the moments when Naruto could recover from Kakuzu's cruel training methods. "Wipe that blood from your face," Kakuzu had grumbled at Naruto after their spar (one-sided beating) had ended.

"…?"

"I have wasted enough time on you. It's time you earn your own weight."

"If you think I can do it."

"Either that, or you'll die. I don't care. I bet I could still fetch plenty of money for your little wood release."

"Geez, I feel so reassured now," Naruto muttered. Kakuzu ignored him, instead unsealing and throwing a black cloak at the fourteen year-old. "Thanks, I suppose?"

"Just make sure you don't get recognized by Konoha scum."

"Why?"

"You want to have an entire village after you?"

"What did I do to earn that?" Naruto blinked, before his mind caught up with his words. "Mokuton…"

Kakuzu only nodded before he walked away. Naruto was forced to quickly gather all his belongings, seal them away in a storage scroll, and run after his 'sensei'. Sensei, a title which Zetsu had mockingly used to describe Kakuzu. Naruto never called him that, though. The only thing which Naruto wanted was to make them pay for the way he had been treated. He wanted to know why he felt such hatred against Kakuzu, before he tore the man to shreds.

* * *

"It seems like Naruto-kun grew up these last months! **Yes, his strength has grown considerably.** "

"Back to nag?" Naruto scowled. "The old geezer just had me wipe out an entire village of bandits, while _he_ takes the money. He's collecting the bounties right now, making me wait outside. Greedy bastard."

"That's Kakuzu. **He's like that. But his skill is probably the only thing surpassing his greed.** And he's hard to kill!"

"What gave you the idea that he'd be a good instructor for me?"

" **Nothing.** But with his experience against the Shodaime Hokage, he would at least **survive when you'd go mad**. Your nightmares are quite scary. **Scary indeed.** "

"Such confidence," Naruto shook his head in disbelief. "Does everyone in the world hate my guts?"

"When you're sad and alone, **the only one you can count on is yourself**."

"As if that wasn't obvious already," Naruto rolled his eyes. "Ever since I first met you, all people have ever tried to do to me is kill me. Hell, I bet that even before I woke up someone tried to kill me. That asshole took away my damn memories." Could it have been Kakuzu?

"But we saved you. **Tobi did.** "

"Yeah, you acquired a useful tool," the longer Naruto spoke, the further his anger rose. The earth trembled slightly as the boy's chakra coursed through it. The trees withered, the foliage parched away, all life seemed to be sapped away. The boy's chakra spiked, and for a moment Zetsu was worried for his own life. Lives, if one was counting the black and white half as separate entities.

Before Naruto could spiral further out of control, the wall of the nearby building exploded outward. A monstrous being that was surrounded by long black threads, with three masks that had their mouths wide open and released…

Zetsu coughed. The explosion that had followed had kicked up quite some dust. " **Kakuzu, you idiot!** You could have killed him!"

"But I did not," Kakuzu drawled. "I've dealt with those outbursts before. They're best stopped before he really loses it. I'm sure you heard what happened when we were near Ishigakure?"

"That was fun! **It was not funny, you fool, he could have been discovered!** Uh, yeah, it would be a pain if Konoha found him. **How are his memories?** "

"The brat doesn't remember a thing of his former life."

" **You did cause enough injury to leave him permanently traumatized.** Or has he gone insane due to Tobi? Something bad happened back then, remember? **Of course I remember.** "

"Messing around with jinchuriki like this is asking for trouble," Kakuzu remarked dismissively. "I still don't see the point of keeping the brat's condition a secret from the others. Just be glad that his mokuton is suppressing the beast to the point where it can't be noticed. The only problems we have are these damn outbursts."

" **Seems like he still needs more time then.** Bye-bye!"

"The brat is right," Kakuzu growled. Zetsu had vanished into the ground again. "Stupid plant."

"Mutated… crop… of lettuce…" Naruto mumbled a few minutes after Zetsu left. The young blond shakily climbed out of the crater which Kakuzu had created with his attack. "Stupid old man… wasn't that a little excessive?"

"Just follow and keep your mouth shut."

* * *

Defecting had once seemed like a good idea: no more orders, no more stupid superiors ordering her around. No missions that only led her to risk her life for a village full of self-righteous idiots. There was only so much that she was willing to take, and the missions out in the field weren't even the worst thing. No, the torture and interrogation aspect, which her clan was renowned for, was what she hated most.

A hidden village exerted power at the cost of the weak. The smaller nations which were stuck between the five large ones were always the first to end up screwed. The top of a hidden village declared someone as an enemy. A nice story was fabricated, depicting the evil deeds of someone. It was all such bogus… some men became bandits, just because they were too poor to feed their families through other means. People resorting to violence because their farmlands were destroyed time after time by shinobi battles, could they really be called 'evil'? And yet, the village issued a mission: capture or kill. Killing was relatively merciful. A captured 'villain' ended up with her, and she had to discern the villain from the victim. It was not a problem if it happened once or twice, but after a decade…

She had grown tired. So terribly tired. This last year of freedom had been more fulfilling than her fifteen-year career as a kunoichi. The peace and quiet was a blessing to her wounded soul. She even had thought of settling down. There was one man in one of the nearby civilian villages who always treated her nicely. He seemed to be aware of her kunoichi status, and that no official shinobi would be lingering in the area for that long a time, but he did not seem to care that much. He cared about her.

Having forsaken her family name, she only went through life as Kyoami. A young woman, only twenty seven years old, blonde and slender, she could be considered attractive, but not overly so. Her cheerful attitude had once made up for a lot, giving her an upbeat personality which had been appreciated by her shinobi peers. Not that she was _that_ popular, but it was enough to attract some of the good-looking guys. But there were only so many fun adventures, and they only acted as temporary distractions from the daily reality. She had just grown tired of it all, and left.

She should've known it wouldn't end well. Hunter-nin would eventually track her down, she had known that when she made her choice, but after a year she had started to hope…

"There is no escape," a young male drawled, completely indifferent. She felt the chakra he radiated; it was so alien that she had not even considered escaping just yet. Blond spiky hair, and cold blue eyes, but otherwise he was nearly completely hidden by the high-collared black robe. He was just a boy, and she was an experienced chunin, yet she knew…

"I know," Kyoami sighed. "So Konoha finally sent someone? I guess I wasn't a priority, if it took them so long."

"I don't care about Konoha," the boy walked up to her, his pace calm and deliberate. "I am here for the bounty on your head."

"A bounty hunter?" she blinked. How could a child, no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, be a bounty hunter of this caliber? She could've understood his power if he was part of some important shinobi clan, but bounty hunters were usually the scum of society.

"Alive or dead, the amount of money is the same."

Kyoami shuddered at his cold and indifferent voice. She had seen so many prisoners that the mere sound of a voice was enough for her to notice the difference. This wasn't someone who would show pity. This wasn't just some sad victim, only reluctantly resorting to a life of crime, just for the sake of survival. This was the voice of someone who would kill and not sleep a second less, the night after. Still, indifferent people were easier to persuade than those who were loyal to a cause. They were selfish, only caring for money, or…

"I… I don't have any money… but I can offer you other forms of payment," Kyoami hated herself, but it was the only chance she had left. He remained silent, and she saw it as a 'yes'. Slowly, she unbuttoned her shirt, showing her chest. She knew it wasn't much, but she had enough to make a boy his age drool. Teenage hormones could be useful, for a change. She felt disgusted, but he was too strong for her to beat him in a fight; this was the only way left to survive this situation, the only chance she had to remain free.

"What are you doing?"

"I can't offer money, but… I'll do whatever you want me to do, if you let me go," she gathered her resolve and acted as sultry as she could. She loosed her long blonde hair and dropped her green shirt. The chilly temperatures caused her nipples to harden. Goosebumps spread over her skin. While she didn't really want to give off the message that she truly desired him, the logical part of her mind accepted that it might be more attractive to him. Her long hair fell over her shoulders, and she used her arms to push her breasts together.

"You can have my body for a night," she tried, hoping she didn't sound too desperate. His silence was unnerving her. Kyoami started to untie her sash, and moved to lower her outworn black pants, turning away from him to give him a little 'show'. Perhaps, if she looked away, this would be less humiliating. But at least she'd survive, humiliated or not.

She felt something on her back. And everything went dark.

* * *

 _Breathe in._

The smells: of pollen in the air, of grass, green and growing; of flowers, budding and vibrant; of trees, enduring and nourishing- the smells of nature entered his nose. He processed it, absorbed the knowledge of his surroundings. It calmed him. The world of green was so much more calming than the world of flesh.

 _Breathe out._

He felt the roots underneath the ground on which he sat. He felt how they gathered the nutrients for the trees that sent them so deep into the earth. There was the eternal thirst for water, only matched for the greed for sunlight. The roots converged into the trunk, the trunk branched out, the branches ended in leaves… and he went back again, back to the earth, back to the next tree.

 _Breathe in._

A rabbit was digging a hole, only a few dozens of feet away from this place. He was carefree, only concerned with reproduction, aiming to lure a mate and start a new warren. At a greater distance, a fox was scurrying around, nose to the ground, tracking the scent of its prey. A couple of cubs were waiting for the vixen to bring back food: the cycle of life.

 _Breathe out._

Yes, vegetation was eaten by herbivores, herbivores were eaten by carnivores, and the corpses and other excrements all provided nutrition for new vegetation. Oxygen converted to carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide converted to oxygen. Nature was balanced. All things happened for a reason.

 _Breathe in._

But why was it so difficult for an individual to understand his reason. Were the things he did part of this world, just like a fox hunting a rabbit? Was he some kind of alpha predator, who could hunt and kill whomever he wanted, and was that his role in the cyclical nature of the world?

 _Breathe out._

People got bounties. Bounties got hunters. Hunters got money. Was that his cycle? Was that his _purpose_? It felt so empty. He knew he was supposed to be more than this, that he was meant to achieve something big. He was not just a continuation of their world, but a force that'd change it. Perhaps that was the old Naruto: never giving up on his goal, no matter the odds- but the new him had forgotten his original purpose.

 _Breathe in._

The new Naruto caught the smell of the corpse behind him, and the one that was approaching, slung over the shoulder of the man who was supposed to be his teacher or mentor. Kakuzu had taken his time, which was unusual. Normally, Naruto was the one who ended up getting chewed out for wasting Kakuzu's time, and time was money, Kakuzu argued. If money was a religion, wasting it was a heretical act for which Kakuzu, archbishop of the church of Ryo, would gladly condemn anyone to a penniless afterlife.

' _Breathing exercises are futile. Still… why did that stupid woman unnerve me so much? Yamanaka Kyoami, formerly a chunin of Konohagakure. Why did her name attract my attention? Why did I pick her bounty when Kakuzu let me decide which one to hunt?'_

What was worse was that he couldn't get her out of his mind. He'd seen plenty of corpses since he had joined Kakuzu. He had hunted down many bounties by himself too. Or in case Kakuzu just wanted to add a fresh heart. Killing was not something that unnerved him anymore, in contrast to how he felt after his first kill. Naruto had gained experience. He knew what the human body looked like, both outside and in. 'Desensitized' was what Kakuzu called it.

But if he didn't feel anything, why did his body experience such arousal when she undressed? Why did a naughty part of his brain consider taking her up on her offer, and screwing her brains out? Sure, she was attractive: apple-sized breasts, with those pretty and hard nipples that just dragged his eyes towards them; and when she lowered her pants, the sight of her bare ass made him feel even worse.

' _I could've taken her, done the stuff from those Icha Icha books which Zetsu gave me, and still killed her after I was done,'_ he speculated, although he knew he wouldn't have done such. It just felt… wrong. Terribly wrong. She didn't do it because she wanted it. She did it because she was desperate. ' _Killing someone and cashing in a bounty is one thing, but raping a woman just doesn't feel right. It might have been physically enjoyable while it lasted, but the mere idea sickens me. That part of me considered it sickens me. Ironic, people call me a monster for the job I do, yet I have more for a conscience than those idiots. The hookers in the cities we've passed pretty much offered their bodies for the same reasons as Kyoami did, and the same villagers who see murder as despicable happily exploit the hopeless situations of those young women.'_

Naruto also had to note that it wasn't so much her body that attracted him. It was a weird sense of familiarity that had stopped him from killing her at the spot. His stupefied silence had led her to drawing the wrong conclusion, offering her body to him in exchange for her life- but her life had been worthless to him.

Naruto sighed, and looked up at the clouds in the sky. There would be rain soon. Just a few more minutes, and then Kakuzu would be here. Then there was the dropping off of the corpses to the nearest bounty station, and then on to their next targets. Life was rather dull. Perhaps he should ask Kakuzu for someone who posed more of a threat?

Idly, he was spinning his right index finger. As his finger twirled, so did a few roots that popped out of the ground. His control had increased drastically ever since Kakuzu had taken him away from that little valley hidden between the mountains. No more creating crappy-looking hovels for him. Naruto could now create a proper little cottage, doors and window openings included, with a mere sequence of hand seals. Perhaps that was why Kakuzu tolerated him better, now. Being able to create houses had saved them quite some money at hotels. It didn't mean Naruto felt any different about Kakuzu, though.

Hell, Kakuzu had even exploited Naruto when they encountered a village which had recently been raided, making Naruto create new houses in return for a good fee. Not that Naruto ever saw more than ten percent of the profit, regardless of the fact that he did all the work: and that small percentage was only seen _if_ he was lucky. Kakuzu was an asshole.

He turned his head to the corpse of the blonde Yamanaka. Even in death, she reminded him of what she had offered him, yet he knew she wasn't the one he desired. How he knew it was something that he didn't know, but he knew it- one of the confusing paradoxes of his stupid life. Breathing exercises didn't help him to calm down, so he just stood up, ordered 'his' roots to lift up the Yamanaka woman, he had dressed her after the vines had pierced her heart, and turned to the waiting Kakuzu. The greedy bastard was already impatient, even when he was the one being late.

"Easy money," Naruto grunted. Sure, the kill was easy, and the locating wasn't too difficult either. Sensing all life through the nature around him, Naruto never had too much trouble finding his prey. The turmoil which she had caused was something he had not anticipated. But he kept his face emotionless, not willing to show anything to the old bounty hunter. The perfect tool had no emotions, and without emotions he had no weaknesses. Foolish. Without emotions, what reason did he have to fight? He desired to live, to be free- that was what gave him strength; that, and nature itself.

"Let's go."

"Fine," Naruto shrugged. ' _I should've picked another target, then she could've lived in peace. She didn't seem too bad a person. Could've made a good wife for someone. Oh well, if she wanted a happy life she should've stayed living in her village, rather than going rogue.'_

* * *

Papers fluttered through the air, amalgamating into a single woman. Dressed in a black robe with red clouds, identical to that of Kakuzu, Naruto knew she was part of the same organization. Akatsuki. Next to the blue haired woman, Zetsu, both black and white, rose from the ground.

"Seems like there is actually someone who can keep up with you, Lettuce-san."

"Why are you so mean to us! **He looks down on us because you are an idiot.** Hey!"

"Konan," Kakuzu grumbled. "What are you two doing here?"

"There is a potential recruit," the stoic woman noted, before she dissolved into papers again. Naruto wondered if she had some kind of fetish for piercings. The odd part was that she had an origami flower in her hair. Apparently she loved piercings _and_ paper. He idly noted that she had better curves than that Yamanaka woman.

" **But there is only one spot remaining.** Naruto-kun gets a fair chance! **But remember that people outside the three of us aren't meant to know your name.** Yes, they know you as Kunomori, but the fewer that know the name, the better. **Don't mess up, unless you want to die.** Seriously."

Kakuzu frowned, but remained silent, making Naruto wonder if this was just another ploy they made to get him killed.

"So I gotta kill someone to join you guys? Who?"

* * *

"Why do I always get to kill the blondes?" Naruto groaned. "And I can't even say whether you're male or female…"

"Hn, they sent a kid this time?" a blonde man frowned. His slanted blue eyes assessing the threat in front of him. His long blond hair was drawn into a half ponytail, leaving the rest hanging down freely. He wore a blue and grey kimono jacket with a fishnet under-shirt inside, and khaki pants with common sandals and a belt-like pouch with a chain. As he wore a slashed Iwa hitai-ate, Naruto had no doubt that this man, or woman, was Deidara.

"You're barely older," Naruto retorted. He was fifteen, and Deidara was a year or two his senior. Deidara glared, but the madness in his eyes did not unnerve Naruto much. He was used to Kakuzu, who was far worse. "I wonder why they make me waste my time on some kind of second-rate terrorist."

He ignored the irony of starting to sound like Kakuzu.

"Hn, people just don't appreciate the grandeur of my art."

"A terrorist living in a temple, talking about 'art'. This day just keeps getting worse. Well, at least those statues were interesting. What's next, do you even want to put up a fight?" Naruto sighed. The temple in which he had found Deidara was conveniently hidden amidst a forest, on the border between Tsuchi no Kuni and Kusa's territory, near Takigakure. Deidara probably used this place as a hideout while travelling across the borders and practicing his _art_ of explosions.

"Why would a brat like you be so eager to die? Do you understand the reality of beauty?" Deidara rambled. Naruto hated people who rambled like this. White Zetsu was like this, endlessly talking, especially during the times when Naruto could barely move, just after he woke up from his 'near death'. Seemingly ignoring the pyromaniac, Naruto instead looked at the statues within the temple. The representations of deities and demons looked well-cared for by the monks who lived here, although the place seemed rather deserted now. It would be a shame to ruin all this. Deidara, annoyed at getting ignored, rambled something about art just lasting a single moment, art being an explosion, and so on. Naruto couldn't find it in himself to care.

Some kind of insect crawled out of the wooden floor, wrapping itself around Naruto. The creature was a construct of clay, infused with a shitload of chakra. "So this is the bakuton they warned me about?" Naruto drawled. "How boring. It sounded more exciting than this dud."

"My art is not a dud!" Deidara snapped, causing the clay insect to explode at his will. "It is the result of combining highly-detailed linework and two-dimensional deformations, why can't anyone see the genius of my work?"

"Why are artists like you always so mentally unstable," Naruto still sounded bored, but his appearance had changed quite a bit. Being merely a Moku Bunshin, this 'Naruto' was quite resilient. Deidara had damaged him, though. The clone had lost a leg, and the other leg and the torso were still on fire. "What's next, are you going to cut off your ear? You're not a painter, you know."

"What… what are you?"

"When will you ever shut up," the clone sighed. "If you win, you must join Akatsuki. If I win, I join. It isn't too difficult to grasp, is it? Although, our match is already decided, so whether you understand or not is irrelevant."

"Who said I want to join them! My ninjutsu is the very essence of my creativity, and I cannot let myself be restricted!"

"Suit yourself," the clone shrugged before he sank into the wooden floor.

"A clone, hn?" Deidara mumbled to himself. ' _That was pathetic. I let myself be fooled by… wait, a wooden clone?'_ Chakra flared up, with a density that even Deidara, not a sensor by nature, could feel it. It was oppressive, ripping apart the wooden floor of the temple, creating tears in the walls.

The floor broke apart, and trees emerged from the ground.

* * *

Tiger. Ram. Snake. ' _I probably have to thank Zetsu for handing me those scrolls on the Shodaime's jutsu. Not sure how Zetsu got stuff from this Madara guy. Nor why someone who, rival or not, doesn't have the kekkei genkai would spend so much time and effort in analyzing the skills from Hashirama.'_

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan!" (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees) It had taken Naruto nearly an entire year, but the technique was well worth it. Augmented by his ever increasing chakra reserves, he could just let it run wild.

Trees emerged, tearing the entire temple apart. Branches of the forest grew over the entire surface. The tiny seeds which had rested in the soil underneath had acted as medium, and Naruto's chakra had turned the grounds into a dense forest. Deidara was overwhelmed, the branches extending at their prey in an instant, binding him, suffocating him. It wasn't exactly like the technique Hashirama used, and far weaker, but it worked for Naruto.

It was almost too easy.

And then the center of the newly created forest exploded.

"Oh, so you aren't completely useless?" Naruto mocked his opponent. Staggering to stay on his feet, Deidara glared at the younger blond. Within the forest Naruto had an overwhelming advantage, and he wasn't inclined to waste more time. "Guess you intentionally made those duds of yours so damn ugly. You just wanted people to underestimate you, didn't you?"

"You… how can you… the mokuton is extinct!"

Suddenly Deidara's chakra increased at a tremendous rate, and he bloated up like he was…

"Mokuton: Mokujoheki!" (Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall) Wooden pillars rose from the ground before Naruto, bending and interlocking, forming a dome-shape rampart that shielded him from the explosion that followed.

"Did that retard seriously cry out 'art is a blast'?" the boy mumbled. "Guess he's really… oh, wait. Isn't that just cute?"

Deidara was forced to escape from the earth. Hiding underneath the ground against someone who could wield the mokuton kekkei genkai was not a wise idea. The roots would always find him down there.

"Huh, so he can create clones from clay too," the younger blond kept on chuckling.

"What kind of freak are you?"

"Neh-eh," Naruto waggled his finger, chiding his opponent. Vines grew from the ground, tying Deidara's arms. "I know you've got your clay in that pouch. I already wasted enough chakra on you. It is time to end this. Now, why don't you recall those little automated duds you made before I forced you from your hiding place?"

"You're being naïve, boy," Deidara laughed. "While I have my explosive underneath you, we have a deadlock."

"You don't get it, do you?"

"Get what?"

"The earth is my domain," Naruto sank into the ground. Deidara tried, but failed to get free. The more he struggled, the tighter the vines squeezed around his arms. His jutsu failed, and his opponent disappeared. "So," Naruto startled the terrorist by emerging from the ground behind him. Kakuzu had taught him quite the valuable skill with the Moguragakure no Jutsu, even when Naruto initially had thought it was just a cowardly way of escape. The jutsu was simple, yet highly useful during combat. "Your kekkei genkei consists of earth and lightning?"

"…"

"Dammit, you kept on rambling like an idiot earlier! At least have some dignity and let me learn a thing or two."

"So you're going to torture me for information?" Deidara smirked. "You won't get anything, you filthy barbarian! Just wait. You can't keep me like this forever, I _will_ turn you into the greatest piece of art I have ever made!"

Naruto sighed, shook his head, and turned around and walked. "As you wish." The vines tightened, stretching Deidara's arms until he groaned from the pain it caused him, and then Naruto turned around. He made a chopping gesture, and a slash of wind chakra descended.

He screamed. He swore. He cursed Naruto with all that was unholy, but it didn't change the fact that his arm was cut off. He only ended up being silenced when Naruto repeated the gesture for Deidara's other arm. A vine tore off Deidara's belt, removing the clay from the missing-nin, and Naruto grabbed him by the throat, dragging him behind him.

It only took Naruto a few minutes before he met Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Konan. A book in one hand, Deidara's unconscious and bleeding form in the other, dragging him over the ground. Konan frowned, seemingly displeased. "This idiot is worthless," Naruto grunted. "But with his bloodline, I figured you would like his heart," he looked at the pleasantly-surprised Kakuzu (not that Kakuzu would ever show it in any way).

"Oh, such a generous boy. **Can we have the corpse?** He's still fresh and juicy. **And he was strong.** A nice meal."

"After Kakuzu takes the heart, I'll cut off the head. This moron is worth ryo. The rest is all yours. But be careful, I poisoned him," Naruto warned. The others stared at him. "What? You really thought I would whoop his ass this easily if he had been himself? You think I just mindlessly spammed a forest in the hopes of crushing him? It was merely a distraction. The bingo book said he liked playing with fire, so I let him burn all the poisonous bark and sap he wanted, breathing in his own death."

"Since when did you have that skill?"

"I was saving it for you, old man," Naruto smiled darkly. "I told you that I'm going to kill you one day." Yes, he had promised Kakuzu on several occasions to make him pay for all the torture/training, and for whatever the man had done before Naruto had lost his memories.

A deep grunt could be heard, a rather foreign sound, and Naruto figured that it was a laugh. "Get a good bounty before you try, kid. If you want to fight me seriously, you've got to be worth something first. If I am ever to die, I would only accept my fate if it is at the hands of the strongest shinobi in the world."

"Greedy and delirious bastard," Naruto shook his head. "So, did I pass this dumb test?"

Konan remained silent, her expression now indecipherable, but tossed a ring at him. Naruto caught it, looking at the teal-colored item. "That ring should be worn on your right index finger," Konan said calmly, with only a minor hint of distaste in her voice. Perhaps she was just condescending to others in general, or perhaps it was because she disliked the way the three others 'shared' Deidara's remains.

"Ao, Sho," Naruto muttered, reading the kanji for 'blue' and 'green'. "Green, kinda fitting considering my ability." She handed him one of the long black cloaks with red clouds, a red interior, and a chin-high collar, which all members of Akatsuki wore. "Thanks."

"I will inform Pein that Kunomori is recruited as the tenth member," whether it was meant as an acknowledgement or not was something which Naruto could only guess. The woman once more dissolved in paper, flying away on the winds.

"Are all members of Akatsuki weirdoes?" Naruto turned to the remaining two shinobi. Looking at Zetsu, black half scowling and the white half amused, and Kakuzu, Naruto began to chuckle. "Forget I asked anything."

" **Hidan is weird, and cannot die.** Orochimaru is more snake than human. **Kisame is more shark than human, manners included.** Sasori is… what is he? **Beats me, never saw his real body.** We are more plant than human. **Konan is relatively normal, but her partner** , Pein, is our leader. **He is the strongest of Akatsuki.** Seriously, don't piss him off," Zetsu warned. " **And now you have joined.** And Kakuzu, don't forget our most grumpy member!"

"That makes nine," Naruto frowned, having counted along. "Who is number ten?"

"There are a secrets, brat," Kakuzu warned, having finished ripping out Deidara's heart. "Ones you don't want to know, especially when our 'great leader' doesn't tell us who it is. Take this brat's head. Keep the ryo."

"Wow, you're actually letting me keep the bounty of someone I killed for a change?" Naruto said mockingly. "I'm so honored. I might even cry out of sheer gratitude…"

"Because you won't get the full price with just a head."

"The bounty only spoke of his head, so they better not refuse to pay. Or they'll find out how it feels to get a tree grown up the ass," Naruto shrugged. "There," he used wind chakra to cut off the head. "Bon appetit, Zetsu."

"Thank **you**."

The two bounty hunters left Zetsu to his meal, not really willing to witness the event, with Naruto carrying Deidara's head by his scalp. "So, what's the deal with Akatsuki? Other than hunting bounties, of course."

"War," Kakuzu sounded unusually eager, a sound which actually startled Naruto. "They're going to unleash a war upon the world unlike any before."

"Why would a bounty hunter strive for war?"

"Wars bring more profit than anything else, brat. You'll learn about that eventually," Kakuzu chuckled darkly. "If you're around as long as I have been, you will see how enjoyable a time of war can be."

"Oh well, not like I care. I don't remember anything anyway."

"Zetsu and I taught you all that you ever need to know," Kakuzu smirked underneath his mask, unseen by Naruto. He knew the irony of the situation, even though he could not claim to know why Zetsu kept the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi a secret like this. But the boy's mokuton suppressing the demon's presence was quite useful indeed.

"Let's get to the bounty station. We'll need new targets. What's with the book, though?"

"I took it. It had pretty pictures."

"The Complete Tale of Kan'on and the Southern Seas," Kakuzu read from the cover.

"A book on deities and demons alike," Naruto shrugged. "Found it in the temple. I figured that it would be nice to have something other than jutsu scrolls to read."

"Tsk. Whatever. Just don't let Hidan see it, or he'd never stop rambling."

* * *

"We're going to meet our contact near Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields)," Kakuzu grumbled with his deep voice. Two months had passed since Naruto had joined Akatsuki, although he had to conclude that his joining the organization had changed very little. In fact, the more he trained, the more boring the bounties became. "After that, you are going to retrieve our target. The secondary target is mine."

"Cooperation? With you?" Naruto asked mockingly. Kakuzu had a bad temper, but Naruto couldn't really care. Annoying the old man was one of the few joys in life. Besides, the boy only really had memories of Zetsu and Kakuzu, plus some short meetings with people like Konan and the targets he hunted, so he had no way of knowing what was considered normal.

"Laugh it up. I'm going after a different bounty- a live one," Kakuzu spat. Naruto knew Kakuzu hated it to capture people alive. Corpses were much easier to transport, and killing, as Kakuzu once put it, was part of thrill of his profession. "Those retards from Kiri stole a brat, and now Orochimaru wants him back. He was even willing to pay me a part in advance."

"Orochimaru?" Naruto frowned. The name left a very bad taste in his mouth for some reason, every time Kakuzu had mentioned him. Kakuzu had, at sparse times when he was somewhat talkative, spoken about his colleagues within Akatsuki. Orochimaru and Hidan were two of the people whom Kakazu seemed to despise most.

Judging by the size of the boulder that Kakuzu threw his way, it did indeed piss him off severely. ' _So Kakuzu is acting on orders. Oh well, not that it matters. This could be entertaining. Last bounty was boring as hell.'_

* * *

 _Kunomori_.

He found it rather funny that Zetsu had picked such an alias for him. Naruto was already an odd name. Perhaps Kunomori was a better name for who he was now, while Naruto was a better name for the person he was before he… well, before whatever happened that caused him to lose his memories. Naruto had asked Zetsu about how he was found several times, and the Zetsu (both black and white) were willing to tell how they used Tobi to heal his broken body, how Naruto and Tobi had merged, with Tobi drastically altering this body: Kunomori's body.

Mokuton was, as Zetsu explained, something of which Tobi was capable. Naruto, however, had a power to drastically improve the kekkei genkai. It was some complex matter of yin and yang energies, which Naruto hadn't really understood. It was obvious, though, that Naruto was still inferior compared to the last person who had possessed the wood release.

After Naruto had learned the basics, Zetsu started to bring documents; secret documents, ones which even Kakuzu wasn't supposed to see. There were diaries and scrolls, written by a legend of old: Uchiha Madara. Zetsu recounted how the old Uchiha was the one who started the real Akatsuki, with goals that even Kakuzu didn't know.

Naruto couldn't find in himself to care about the goals and plans of others. He was just a grunt, Kunomori, one of the ten members of Akatsuki. Although, 'grunt' wasn't the word to describe him by normal standards, considering how Akatsuki only held members who were terrifying. But, Naruto held no illusions. In his current condition, he wouldn't be able to beat Kakuzu; if this 'Pein' could make Kakuzu listen…

The boy sighed and fiddled with the flower he had plucked while he had aimlessly wandered to the edge of the field. Kakuzu was resting. Sleep wasn't the word to describe it, as Kakuzu was still to some degree aware of his surroundings. The man had been used to living alone, after all. Naruto was a different case. Sleep was an obstacle. Sometimes he had nights in which he could rest peacefully, but more often than not he was haunted by nightmares, dreams, or perhaps memories. But elusive as dreams were, Naruto could never really recall them- not in detail, at least.

There were vague impressions of someone blonde and imposing, someone capable of instilling fear in his heart, yet gentleness at the same time; it was a rather unusual person. He felt both pity and pride, a conflict of being confident in the person, yet an overwhelming desire to protect at the same time. He knew the person had a great weakness within, despite how fearsome the person was. Those dreams usually ended up with a feeling of being punched, startling him awake.

Most of the other things he dreamt about were less confusing, except for one. Ever since he had encountered Yamanaka Kyoami, this stupid dream kept him from resting properly. The turquoise eyes, they were the most vivid thing he could remember. Those dreams were the worst. They left him frustrated, wanting to know who it was that haunted him so.

Forcefully, he shifted his attention to the field of flowers. He felt how his temper was getting the better of him, again, and did not want to go into another one of his frenzies. The feeling of blanking out and waking up in the middle of all that destruction, often with a severely bruised body due to the means which Kakuzu used to halt his onslaught, was not really pleasant. ' _I already lack my memories. Perhaps that explains why I want to remain in control? Or is it the way I've been taught by Kakuzu and that talking cabbage-from-hell?'_

Looking at the flowers, Naruto found something that distracted him. Ever since he woke up with this ability, Naruto had found flowers the most beautiful creations of nature. Trees were mighty, and easier to use in combat, but the fragile flowers required delicacy. It was a delicacy he had yet to master. Sure, he could control them just like he controlled trees, but they always perished due to the amounts of chakra he put into them. Limiting the amount to the exact right level was difficult, difficult enough to silence his every thought. Sitting in lotus position, Naruto looked like he was meditating.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama?" the girl knocked on the door of the Hokage's office. "Can I enter?"

"Come on in, Ino," the strained voice of the older blonde resounded. "What makes you so worried?" she remarked, when she saw the frown on the face of the young Yamanaka. The fifteen year-old chunin handed her the file which she had been holding.

Quickly scanning through the text, Tsunade frowned at the conclusion. It wasn't _that_ remarkable to learn that a missing-nin had died. Bounties were cashed in all the time, and they spared Tsunade a lot of manpower. Every missing-nin taken down by bounty hunters was one less who needed to be hunted by her own forces. Moreover, Yamanaka Kyoami was, relatively speaking, just small fry. The only reason as to why Tsunade had issued the bounty was because the woman had worked for the Torture and Interrogation department. It was a position that gave her a lot of knowledge, although Ibiki had assured Tsunade that the traitor hadn't possessed any truly important information.

No, what made Tsunade frown was the final line of the report. "A bounty hunter named Kunomori? Possible mokuton?" Tsunade narrowed her eyes, feeling another headache coming up.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," Ino nodded solemnly. "I thought… if it was true…"

"If this is true, it is extremely dangerous. But I highly doubt that it is true. The only remaining person who has that ability is Yamato, and he can only use it because he is a genetic experiment that Orochimaru conducted with cells of my grandfather."

Tsunade sighed, and opened a drawer of her desk. She always kept a small reserve there, even though Shizune tried to keep her from drinking while she was 'in-office' (although she regularly got too drunk to even leave the office, sleeping face-down on the desk).

"Want some?"

"No, thank you," Ino declined politely. Sake wasn't really something for her, she had found out the ugly way. It only brought up a lot of tears. Ino always wondered why people tried to escape reality by intoxicating themselves, while she only found more of her sadness welling up when she tried to drink.

"I'll send word to Jiraiya," Tsunade mumbled, after downing two large gulps straight from the bottle. "Bounty hunters are notoriously difficult to track. It seems like a waste of time to dispatch a team of anbu, knowing that this 'Kunomori' has mostly likely long since left the area. If this is someone who just casually hunts down chunin-level shinobi, he wouldn't restrict himself just to hunting within a single nation's borders."

"Do you think the claim of the mokuton is true?" Ino frowned. "Father only found out because he investigated the bounty station where she was brought in. The man seemed to be rather angry, but too scared to really talk. He said that this Kunomori would impale him by using, and I quote, 'a freakish wood release'."

"It is more likely that this is someone who has used a genjutsu, just like Kurenai, for example," Tsunade shook her head in denial. "No, this can't be mokuton. It is impossible. But regardless, I'll notify Jiraiya. His information network might pick up more on Kunomori. As unlikely as it seems, we can't completely rule out the possibility that it is true."

"How is Jiraiya-sama doing?" Ino asked cautiously. Not cautiously enough, though, judging the pained grimace on the face of the Senju, and her reflexive consumption of sake.

"He only sends reports," Tsunade admitted. She felt horrible about the situation. How much time had passed since the fateful day when he had told her that Naruto had died? A year? Two years? Tsunade could barely recall. She did not remember much of the depression she sank into after he brought back the accursed necklace, which she now kept it hidden in the same vault as where she hid the scrolls on the kinjutsu which Konoha possessed. The grey time, devoid of any color, smell, or sound, was just a throbbing ache in her memories.

Three times she had entrusted that necklace to someone whose dream she had believed in. Three times she had lost a man she had cared about. First her little brother, then the man she had wanted to marry, and then the boy who had almost seemed like a son- or at the very least, a brattish little cousin. And yet, she had persisted in keeping her position, somehow, for their sake, as Nawaki, Dan, and Naruto had all dreamt of becoming Hokage. In honor of their memory, no matter how much it hurt her, Tsunade remained Hokage, doing what they had wanted her to do.

Nonetheless, there had been one particular moment when she had nearly resigned. Jiraiya had talked her out of it, saying that Naruto would never have wanted her to give up. ' _I should not have spoken like that. Jiraiya tried to help me… and in my grief I lashed out at him. Hurt him. Something broke in him that day,'_ she looked at her bottle and took another sip. Normally she broke a bone, but that time she broke something worse: his heart. "Jiraiya only sends reports. He doesn't visit anymore."

"I see," Ino knew about the quarrel between the sennin and the Hokage, even if the latter never wanted to push him away. Ino knew that Tsunade cared deeply about her last remaining friend. But, some words were not easily forgiven, no matter how often the woman apologized.

As her student, Ino was aware of the importance which Naruto had held to Tsunade. But as much as Tsunade was hurt, Jiraiya had lost even more. Shizune had told her once, when the two of them carried a passed-out Tsunade back home. How Jiraiya had taught Namikaze Minato, the man who later became the Yondaime Hokage, and how he had been hurt by the death of the man he viewed as his son. Ino had been shocked to learn that Naruto was the son of this infamous man, and that Minato had made Jiraiya Naruto's godfather. It was telling of how important the boy had been to the old man. He was the legacy of Minato, and the last shred of family which Jiraiya had held dear.

Even if Shizune had not made her swear secrecy, Ino would never have talked about this with others. Her own pain couldn't allow it. Her ever-cheerful blond companion, the boy who was raised within the Yamanaka clan as one of their own, had just been put there to hide his true heritage. A blond among blondes would not be noticed by anyone looking for Minato's possible children. Although Ino couldn't care less about whom he descended from. To her, Naruto had been her closest friend.

He was her reason for why sake only brought up painful emotions, memories which she so desperately tried to suppress. He was the reason why she could somewhat understand Tsunade, and the reason why Tsunade was willing to listen to her. The traumatized woman had once confided her that she couldn't allow herself to be this weak while watching Ino endure that loss.

That was why Ino vowed to never let Tsunade see her weakness. That was why she always refused when Tsunade invited her to drink with her. Konoha needed a strong Hokage, and it was up to her and Shizune to keep Tsunade strong.

* * *

With a scowl hidden underneath his mask, one of the four Anbu that guarded Tsunade's office pondered what to tell his master. This blabbering idiot at that bounty station had to be eliminated. As long as Konoha did not believe the unfounded rumor of someone wielding the wood release, nothing was wrong. But if they did…

Akasuna no Sasori had explicitly stated that the members of Akatsuki may be illustrious, but that their true abilities should remain hidden from the hidden villages. And the Anbu could not defy his master's orders.

* * *

"Your map is out-dated, Kakuzu," Naruto frowned. "It still states Ta no Kuni (Land of Rice Fields) rather than Oto no Kuni (Land of Sound)."

"Borders are the same," Kakuzu grunted. "I don't care which idiot leads it."

"Fair enough." Naruto found the climate of this country rather pleasant. There were plenty of forests, some mountains, and many farmers. It was green enough to suit his tastes, so much better than when he had travelled near Iwagakure or, heavens forbid, Sunagakure. Stone and sand were not the best places for someone with his abilities. Sure, he possessed the earth and water release which he somehow instinctively combined and used for the wood release, and he had the wind release on top of it, but he felt naked when there weren't forests around him.

Kakuzu remained silent, radiating that same annoyance as always. He did not have much love for Orochimaru. The man stole away the people who had bounties on them, using them for experiments. When Naruto and Kakuzu finally found them, they were barely recognizable. They had failed to cash in several bounties due to Orochimaru.

"So, why are we doing this again?"

"Akatsuki," Kakuzu pointed at the robe which Naruto now wore as well. Naruto shrugged, and they continued in silence. Naruto now wore the default clothing which Akatsuki provided. Dark blue pants, almost to the point where they seemed grey, with matching sandals. Naruto didn't wear a shirt, finding the thing too restrictive. He rather not wore the black robe either, although he did admit he thought that the red clouds on it looked 'badass'. The remark had only elicited an exasperated sigh from the (much) older bounty hunter, who wondered if the boy would ever grow up. Kakuzu did, however, supply Naruto with a black-colored mask which covered Naruto's lower face, only revealing his cerulean eyes. Combined with how his blond hair had grown out to a spiky yellow mane that reached to his shoulders, Kakuzu had reasoned that no one would recognize him now.

The entire 'don't be recognized' mantra was a motto that seemed to come from Zetsu, although Naruto, publicly known as Kunomori, wondered what could be such a big problem about his identity, when even the other people from Akatsuki weren't supposed to know. If people came after him for his mokuton, aiming to capture or kill him, he'd just show them how unwise that idea would be. His life had been filled with death anyway, so one victim more or less did not really matter to Naruto. But he wouldn't need to hide his name or his face from the people from Akatsuki in order to hide his bloodline. It made no sense, but without any clue that explained Zetsu's reasoning, Naruto couldn't really argue against it either.

"So, Otogakure serves the same purpose as Amegakure: destabilizing the borders?" Naruto remarked after a while. His tall companion, second only to Kisame in height, remained silent, although the shift in posture made it clear that he was listening. "Ame is located in the perfect position to mess with Suna, Iwa, and Konoha, while Oto has access to the borders of Kumo and Konoha. Meanwhile, Kirigakure is mixed up in that stupid war. All five focus their attention on petty conflicts, while no one is aware of the group of S-ranked mercenaries which fights for any side willing to pay them."

"You are still fishing for the goal of Akatsuki."

"If I'm supposed to be a part of it, I might as well figure out what I'm supposed to do," Naruto admitted.

"Money. Your purpose right now is money. We are gathering funds until Akatsuki begins to move. That is all you need to know right now."

The remainder of the journey was done in silence again. It somewhat pissed off Naruto how people either tended to babble pointlessly (White Zetsu) or remain silent like some reclusive hobo (Kakuzu). Well, there was the ice-queen-treatment too, even though Naruto had only met Konan twice.

He stared at the teal-colored ring at his right index finger, and asked himself why he even cared about Akatsuki. They didn't really give a damn about him, so why would he care about them? The only answer Naruto found was that he simply had nothing else to care about. This was all he knew, and he still needed to grow before he could stand a chance of standing on his own two legs, independent of everything.

At the end of the day, the duo reached the border of Oto no Kuni and Yu no Kuni (Land of Hot Water), where they were supposed to be meeting their contact. With a slight smile, hidden behind his black mask, Naruto wondered how long this contact would last. Kakuzu wasn't really a patient man.

"Do you sense someone?" Kakuzu drawled, clearly still thinking this was a waste of his time. There were plenty of trees to extend Naruto's senses, and on such occasions, Kakuzu had learned to trust in his 'student' slash 'partner'. Neither of the two were really words Kakuzu would use. The blond was a nuisance that refused to perish, but was too interesting to really go all-out against. Kakuzu found it rather amusing to know that the boy vowed to kill him. His defeat against Hashirama not forgotten, Kakuzu found it rather fitting if he would one day have a rematch against someone who might reach that man's level. There was a certain poetic justice in this situation, that made even the cold-blooded bounty hunter wonder how it would end.

However, Naruto still had a lot of training to go before he could even put a finger on a man like Hashirama…

"Three people, east-northeast. One has a relatively strong chakra, probably a jonin, while the other two seem chunin."

"Three people..." Kakuzu rolled his eyes, those unusual green irides with no pupils and red sclerae, upward. "Perhaps that slithering piece of thrash thought he could appease me by offering two additional hearts."

"Perhaps they're worth something?" Naruto suggested.

"Let's pick up the pace."

Naruto chuckled, knowing that the suggestion of money had once again done its job. They were greeted by three shinobi that Naruto hadn't recognized from the bingo books. One girl seemed his age, short-tempered and red-haired. She made a rather stupid mistake.

"Fucking finally! You were supposed to be here yesterday, slow geriatric old fucke-"

Like Naruto noted, the girl made a mistake. Kakuzu already had a foul temper, having to do a mission for Orochimaru, and then she was foolish enough to provoke him as well. Naruto wasn't surprised when Kakuzu instantly ended the big-mouthed fool's life with a nasty (and scarily precise) futon jutsu. Naruto stepped in and ended the equally dumb response of her six-armed companion. The boy, looking too arrogant in Naruto's opinion, intended to attack Kakuzu. A stake through the heart ended that ridiculous notion. Naruto knew that Kakuzu wouldn't have a heart that was affected by Orochimaru's experiments anyway.

While that happened, the third and strongest person remained unmoved. The girl, or young woman, Naruto estimated her to be a year or two older than he was, hadn't even flinched when the Akatsuki duo killed her two associates. She had red lipstick, fair skin, dark eyes and light blue hair which she kept in a spiky ponytail with long strands of hair framing her face. Definitely not ugly, Naruto noted. Her outfit consisted of a green dress with a long left sleeve and a short right one, a red turtle-neck which had a white, fluffy collar and brown gloves. For shoes, she wore calf-length brown sandal boots.

"Let's head out," she said, completely indifferent. Kakuzu seemed to approve of her, considering how she didn't waste time, and trailed. Not caring one way or the other, Naruto followed their example. At least this last kunoichi wasn't an idiot. She did seem somewhat worried, though, after Naruto carefully observed her movements. Regardless, she did an excellent job at hiding her emotions.

' _Capture and collect. Someone stole a kid. Her kid? Her brother? Oh well, as long as it offers an interesting battle, who cares.'_

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

With Guren involved, I bet you know who the kidnapped child is…

The alias that Naruto uses, Kūnomori, actually means "empty forest". I found it a rather fitting name, considering Naruto's new abilities and his lack of memories. He is rather empty on the inside, for now, at least. He doesn't even know he's an Uzumaki, or that he is a jinchuriki. His true name is, of course, significant. Zetsu doesn't want others to find out that Naruto is a jinchuriki, and the name 'Naruto' is pretty much just giving it all away. So only Kakuzu knows. Not that Kakuzu cares. It's not a secret worth any money, after all. But markets always change…

Oh, and it seems rather logical that Naruto's life prior his supposed death was rather different. The 'no Uchiha' rule of the fic also meant that Sasuke wasn't around. And as shown this chapter, I also made a few more deviations. Where better to hide a blond, than among blondes? I'm not answering questions regarding pairings or returning memories, though. You'll all see where I am going when the time is right!

Reviews would be much appreciated. You know, the usual stuff about what you all think about the story so far. What works, what doesn't, such feedback is pretty darn useful, you know.

Beta'd by the mighty **Illuminated**.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	3. Old Man of the Sea

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Three**

 **Old Man of the Sea**

* * *

" _History's shown that in this world, when you take your ideals too far, all you ever create is Hell."_

― Ken Akamatsu

* * *

"If we had to go to Kirigakure anyway, why not meet up there?" Naruto groaned. "We've been running through the entire continent by now. This just feels like a big waste of time."

"For once, I agree with the brat," Kakuzu chimed in, glaring at the girl. "Explain yourself, girl."

Scowling, but nevertheless stopping, the girl turned towards them. "Four men broke into one of our bases. They abducted a child- a child that Orochimaru-sama requires for his plans."

"And they're headed for Kiri?" Naruto wondered. "And don't you think it is polite to introduce yourself?"

"Yes, they are heading towards Kiri, although I do not know why. Tayuya and Kidomaru, whom you met earlier, had tracked them."

"I guess that's why that guy needed us to do it," Naruto looked at Kakuzu. "He can't hide behind his minions if the minions aren't strong enough for the task."

The girl bristled, but knew better than to start an argument with people who were equal in rank to her master. Whether the masked boy was younger than her or not had little to do with it. That he was granted a cloak with Akatsuki's red clouds was proof enough of his ability, to her at least.

"And the name?" Kakuzu drawled. "It would be easier to estimate your worth if we had a name."

Orochimaru had warned her about Kakuzu, and the unreliable personality the man possessed. Guren was confident in her strength, but Kakuzu had attained some sort of immortality, according to Orochimaru. It made him a bad person to antagonize. What was worse was that even Orochimaru had no details about the man's younger associate. Kunomori was someone who had appeared out of nowhere, killing an S-ranked missing-nin from Iwa to earn his spot in their organization.

Not knowing, in their world, was often more dangerous than knowing. "Guren," she declared.

"Seems like your bingo book is outdated too, old man," the younger blond chuckled, shaking his shoulder-length spiky hair. "So, Guren-chan, tell us about the boy. And what is this, we're supposed to capture that scum alive?"

"Don't act like you are familiar to me," Guren might have held back due to a combination of respect and fear, but she wasn't willing to entirely swallow her pride. "The child is named Yukimaru. He possesses a strange deficiency in his chakra, very much akin to that of a jinchuriki. Orochimaru-sama needs him for research."

"Why?" Naruto was nothing if not curious, and he had finally found someone willing to talk. Or at least, he could bully her into talking. He found the situation more amusing than Guren did, that was for sure.

"If Yukimaru is able to connect to the bijuu, that ability might be used to capture them or their jinchuriki."

Zetsu hadn't neglected to explore the notions of the tailed beasts and the humans who were 'sacrificed' as a means to contain the immeasurable power of the bijuu. Several of the scrolls and books which Zetsu had brought him, all from Madara, had noted that the mokuton kekkei genkai had the unusual ability to suppress the bijuu. ' _Perhaps this boy has an ability similar to my own… could he be family?'_ Naruto wondered.

"One of the four who infiltrated the base was identified as Hozuki Suigetsu," Guren continued. "Orochimaru-sama has offered a substantial amount of money to get Suigetsu, but only if alive. This is because the Hozuki clan has the ability to turn their bodies into water, so upon death there would not be much data left for Orochimaru-sama to collect."

"That's why you're capturing Suigetsu," Naruto put one and one together and realized that Kakuzu was once against motivated by ryo. "Oh well, its fine with me. Does this Yukimaru kid have to survive, or do we only have to ensure that his body doesn't fall in enemy hands?"

"Survive," Guren lied without skipping a beat. Orochimaru had not ordered that specifically, but she had her reasons to want the boy to survive.

"Fine," 'Kunomori' shrugged. "But first, I'm getting some shut-eye. I'm tired of running around all freaking day."

"There is a village not too far-"

"Don't bother," the blond cut her off. In a flurry of movement, he went from snake to rat to ox to ram and back to the snake hand seal again, putting both hands to the ground afterwards. "Mokuton: Shichuka no Jutsu (Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique)."

A complete house rose from the ground, much to Guren's shock.

"I take the upper floor," Kakuzu grumbled.

"Tsk, always hogging the room with the best view," Naruto sighed. "Fine, I'll take the left wing, the right room is all yours, Guren-chan."

Too stunned to even properly protest against the suffix, Guren merely nodded like a speechless fool. Her bloodline, the shoton kekkei genkai, was rare. But mokuton was the stuff of legends. Small wonder this boy wore that cloak…

* * *

It was odd to think that anyone could create an entire wooden building, including furniture, and yet this is what had happened. The lack of mattress was slightly annoying, but the wooden bed, overgrown with moss, still offered a good place to sleep. However, Guren didn't really sleep that well with the knowledge of having one S-ranked murderer in her vicinity, and a mokuton user of unknown skill on top of it. Although she assumed that Kunomori easily qualified for the S-rank as well, if he could use his bloodline to do _this_.

Besides, Guren had always been a light sleeper. Perhaps that is why she awoke when she heard someone move through the house, trying to exit silently. He was not silent enough, though. Grabbing her clothes, Guren got dressed and stalked after the person who left. She assumed that it was Kunomori, considering how Kakuzu had a much heavier build, and would generate different sounds while moving.

Confirming her expectations, she indeed found the young blond nin of Akatsuki, sitting in the field in front of the impromptu house. Legs crossed, hands folded, and eyes closed, it seemed like he was meditating. That would be an odd pastime for someone who earlier spoke so casually about life and death, but if Guren had learned one thing while serving her master, it was that all members of Akatsuki were… _peculiar_.

There was the infamous puppet master, Akasuna no Sasori, for instance, who was her master's partner. The man had expressed his desire to make a puppet out of her, but fortunately for Guren, Orochimaru had declined. Guren didn't know what 'making a puppet out of her' entailed, but the sinister way he had made the request spelled bad news. The only thing more deformed than the man's body was his humanity. Even her master seemed more humane in comparison.

At least, to Guren, who arguably was not the most unbiased source regarding Orochimaru.

* * *

Her approach had not been unnoticed. Naruto had felt her chakra, although he had to admit she knew how to sneak around. It was no big surprise, considering she was the servant of a half-snake. The question was: was she just as treacherous? What would she do now that his back was turned towards her? Would she attack?

Instead, she just stood there, watching him.

"Gathering information for your master?" Naruto eventually spoke up. "Or are you simply here for a pretty flower?"

"Who are you?"

"Just call me Kunomori, like everyone does. Why answer a question with a question, though?"

"…"

"How rude," Naruto said, feigning to be hurt. "Just when I thought I found a normal person to talk to…"

"Is this just a game to you?" Guren growled. Naruto didn't see her face, but the annoyance practically radiated from the girl. "First you want a break, and then you wake up in the middle of night, yet you accused me of wasting time?"

"Ahhh… why do people always assume that they know everything about another. I overestimated you, Guren-chan. Why would anyone have trouble sleeping?"

Silenced followed after his words, and he instead started fiddling with flowers again. He was slowly getting better at this, growing them without completely exhausting them, no longer overloading them with chakra. The better he got at it, the more attuned he became, the more he came to realize how fundamentally wrong Uchiha Madara was about Hashirama. True strength did not come from within. Those with the mokuton bloodline could gather strength from the nature around them. They connected to the roots of all growing things. Existing in harmony with the world, one could sense the immeasurable amount of chakra that resided outside. Though chakra wasn't really the word for it, Naruto considered, as this energy wasn't...

It seemed more similar to the physical and spiritual energies, only it was something 'disconnected', an energy which flowed freely, not bound to body or soul. It was free to access for those who were capable of looking beyond themselves, but not without a cost, considering how easy it was to lose oneself in such power. Perhaps that is why Madara never really understood. His diaries seemed to be permeated with an obsession for power. Almost in the way that Kakuzu would write a book about money, so did Madara write about jutsu.

' _She's still here,'_ Naruto had half expected her to be gone by now. "Why are you so loyal to someone like Orochimaru?"

"Isn't Orochimaru-sama part of the same organization as you?" she retorted. It became quite exasperating, actually, how she persisted in ignoring his questions and instead asked him ones of her own.

"You think that makes him my buddy? You think Kakuzu is a friend to me? Come on, Guren-chan, you can't be _that_ naïve." Zetsu had taught that lesson to him long ago. Trust only yourself. Naruto knew Zetsu was using him, just like Kakuzu was using him, like how Akatsuki was using him. All the people he knew just viewed him as a tool, all the people he could remember, at least.

"Then why did you join Akatsuki?"

"Ah, so you assume I have some kind of goal… it is quite bold to ask for such a thing so directly."

"You're not answering my questions."

"Neither are you," Naruto shot back. "But I'm not inclined to talk about this. So why not return to my first question: why are you loyal to Orochimaru?"

"You refuse to answer, yet expect me to answer?"

"Fine," Naruto sighed, getting rather bored. Why did she waste his time like this, with those petty words? He could be training, yet instead he was exchanging words. Words, they were just air escaping the lips, meaningless, without any real content. Actions had meaning. Naruto didn't agree with Kakuzu that material possessions held meaning, though. Money was useful, but pointless in itself. The coins and paper were only worth what the other would give for it. What was the value based on? On nothing, Naruto had eventually concluded. A corpse was worth money because another party gave money to the bounty station, which gave money to the bounty hunter who brought the corpse. But who decided the worth?

What was the value of life? It was a thought that had crossed Naruto's mind after killing Yamanaka Kyoami, who had been so desperate to prolong her life, even at the cost of her pride and her body. A part of Naruto's fifteen-year-old-mind pondered what would happen if he pushed Guren into a corner. Would she offer her body, like Kyoami had done?

' _What is the value of pride?'_ he silently asked himself. Naruto did not want to abuse the girl, even though he did think that she was rather attractive, in spite of her cold and haughty demeanor.

"Well?" she tapped at the ground, obviously impatient due to his silence.

' _Feisty. She definitely has pride. I can almost understand the fun Kakuzu has in hunting. Breaking the pride of your prey is… amusing. Hm. I have to get my mind back on the rails again.'_ He looked back, his eyes having adjusted to the nightly darkness a long time ago, his blue orbs piercing her dark eyes. "I have no attachments, thus I have no loyalties to anyone. I am a tool, until I grow too troublesome to be used. I am alone in this world, until I remember who I was."

"Remember who you were?"

"Like I said, do not make foolish assumptions about me 'wasting' time during the night," Naruto shot back, recalling the eyes had seen in his dreams. The expression had been completely different, not the scowl which he saw on Guren's face right now. "Now that you have established my absence of loyalty: why are you loyal?"

She wanted to turn around, and stalk back into the building, but a vine had taken hold of her feet. "There is a limit to the amount of rudeness I tolerate, you know," Naruto frowned. "To be frank, I killed most of my targets for far less. Although I do not yet see the value of ending your life, I can't say I see value in prolonging it either."

His words were calm, but something about him that made her shiver. Perhaps it was the chakra she felt through the vine that held her, perhaps it was the look in his eyes, Guren could not explain it. She felt weak, fragile, almost like a little girl. Just like when Orochimaru-sama looked at her, it was a look that both robbed her of her confidence and gave her meaning at the same time.

Crystal covered her skin, a pinkish hue, armor to protect herself from the threat he formed. "This is my kekkei genkai," she spoke with more calmness than she inwardly felt. "When I was a child, people feared me for it. I lacked control, and posed a danger. As such I was shunned by the people of my village. I don't even know if I had family, or if they cast me aside. But one day, Orochimaru-same came… he destroyed the village, single-handedly. He had such power that I saw him as a god. So when he invited me to come with him, I did."

"You were envious of his power?"

"Yes. I knew that if I had such power, no one would shun me. They would hate me, but their fear would be greater."

"Do you value Yukimaru because he fears you?" Naruto frowned. He found her view on life quite akin to his own. Although in his world, there wouldn't be a random shinobi who stepped in and wiped out the S-ranked people who kept him as a tool. In fact, now that he considered it, if someone else freed him, it would only lead to him being his liberator's tool. ' _Freedom is attained by oneself. Not for me, but by me.'_

"No! I… Yukimaru is different."

Naruto tilted his head a little, somewhat confused by her answer. Through the vine he felt how her heartbeat changed a little. "Why?"

"He is… I have to…"

His head jerked to the left. Naruto's blue eyes widened. "Warn Kakuzu," he ordered Guren. "He's a light sleeper, but be careful. He has a nasty temper when he wakes up."

"What is going on?"

"Visitors," Naruto grunted. Something within his voice made her hurry. So far, he had been rather flippant about most things, but this was no joke.

Looking up, Naruto wondered if he could ever live a peaceful life, free as the clouds that drifted, obscuring the distant stars from his view. Life was about balance. The calmness of nature was something he felt, but the insanity of mankind was also present. Dragged along by Kakuzu, Naruto had seen some very nasty specimens of their species. In a way, Naruto wondered if he should stop to restrain his more violent urges, and just cut loose, or if he should remain calm and collected. He had accepted death as a part of life, but the excesses in violence and unnecessary cruelty were things foreign to the nature he observed around him.

Resigned to what was going to happen, Naruto stood up. A triple-bladed scythe flew towards him, from the cover of darkness. Vines erupted from the ground, binding the weapon. Naruto's hands flew through a couple of seals, and seconds later a loud fit of swearing resounded. Accompanied by laughter.

"Serves you right, moron! Yo, brat," Hoshigaki Kisame nonchalantly greeted his fellow member of Akatsuki. As if he hadn't just seen how his partner had been skewered in two halves, torso being ripped from the lower body by Naruto's trees.

"Kisame," Naruto grunted. "Couldn't you have kept that lunatic away? Kakuzu is going to whine for days that he has to stitch Hidan in one piece again. You know how much he hates doing things for free…"

"He can refuse it just as well," Kisame shrugged, a wide grin unveiling his pointed shark-like teeth. "Hidan is a damn pain in the ass. He talks too much. But it's fun to see him getting pummeled. Usually my sparring partners die quickly, but he at least lasts."

"He is too stupid to die," Naruto shook his head. "I'd say it is his sole redeeming quality. Perhaps you should ask Kakuzu if he can sew Hidan's mouth. I bet he'd willingly do that for free."

"Kunomori-san, your sense of humor is truly a bright light for our organization!" the tall swordsman patted Naruto, who he only knew as Kunomori, on the back with such force that the teen almost stumbled forward. "Yo, Kakuzu, you old goat!"

"Kisame," the man's foul mood seemed almost tangible. "What excuse do you have for waking me…"

"Eh, don't be so damn uptight," Kisame laughed, being one of the few who could afford to ignore Kakuzu's mood swings. Kisame was at least as monstrous as the five-hearted man, even when one didn't count Samehada, the sentient blade that the former Kiri-nin carried. "Can you patch up that retarded partner of mine? He tried to attack little Kunomori-san."

"Again?" Kakuzu sighed. "He never learns. Hm. I'll do it when it is light. I don't feel like searching for Hidan's body parts during the night. Perhaps he can bleed to death if you leave him in pieces for a longer period of time?"

Laughing at the older man's slightly hopeful remark, Kisame shook his head. "I tried, but it doesn't work. Beheading also doesn't work. Sucking away his chakra is also futile, as is drowning, setting aflame… electrocution too. He just… well, I guess if we bury him deep enough after we cut him apart, he can't escape?"

"Sounds like a plan," Naruto cracked his fingers.

"Don't," Kakuzu stopped the blond. "Akatsuki needs a guy like him, annoying as he may be." Regardless, he turned back into the building. Guren just stood there, silent and a bit stiffly.

"Oh, you've got yourself a little girlfriend too, Kunomori-san?" Kisame chuckled. "And here I thought you were just as cold as Kakuzu. Quite a looker too!"

"She's not, and I'm not," Naruto sighed. "And can you stop freaking her out by radiating so much chakra?"

"Make me," Kisame challenged.

"…this again?"

"Still sore that you lost last time? But now that you're part of the club, I expect that you've grown kiddo!"

"W-what does he mean?" Guren muttered, rather disturbed that Kisame had a presence which would even put her master to shame. Orochimaru was a monstrously strong shinobi in his own right, but only a handful of people could match Hoshigaki Kisame in terms of raw chakra. Naruto knew that Kakuzu was wary of the man, silently admitting that his own chakra reserves were inferior. Of course, Kakuzu was likely the most versatile ninjutsu specialist in the world, with a vast amount of experience to boot. However, Kisame could compensate, perhaps even overcompensate, that disadvantage with his blade.

In comparison to these two. Hidan, even if being an S-ranked criminal himself, was but a stumbling fool who only had his immortality to keep him going. He was slower, weaker, dumber… the fact that even Naruto, the youngest member of Akatsuki, easily kicked his ass was what made Hidan rather violent each time he saw Naruto. Unfortunately for him, this was his third instant defeat in a row.

Had she possessed less self-control, Guren would have freaked out when Naruto answered Kisame's challenge. The earth at the boy's feet cracked, creating a spider web-like pattern due to the sheer pressure of his chakra. It was almost like he had a vague greenish glow around him, and for the first time Guren truly accepted the fact that this boy was part of the same organization as her master. Perhaps he still lost to Kisame, perhaps Orochimaru was still slightly stronger than him, but Naruto still had years to grow up. Being this strong at his age was simply… _insane_.

"Mokuton," she mumbled to herself, feeling the same kind of awe that she felt the first time she met Orochimaru. Guren was confident, very confident actually, in her own abilities. She knew she could pretty much best any jonin. But these people, these monsters, were on a different level altogether. The gap between A-rank and S-rank shinobi was incomparable to that between B-rank and A-rank.

"You've improved!" Kisame still had that carefree laugh. Chakra, to him, was no threat. Only food for Samehada. They had nicknamed him the 'monster of the hidden mist', and the 'tailed beast without a tail', but it wasn't his raw strength that made Kisame frightening. It was his ability to leech off the chakra of his opponents. The stronger his enemies were, the better Kisame could fight against them. "And it has only been a few months since we last met," Kisame complimented Naruto. "If you keep this up you'll become an interesting challenge in a year or so."

"That long?" Naruto scowled, stopping his intimidation tactics. He did not want to risk revealing how he could go into frenzy when losing control of his chakra. It was another thing that Zetsu, and Kakuzu as well, had told him to hide. Sure, he could muster more chakra, but what good was it if it caused him to go berserk?

"You should be proud, brat!"

"Ugh, and here I was hoping that I could kick your blue ass with only a few more months of training," Naruto sighed. "Pain-in-the-ass S-ranked monsters."

"You've become such a monster too," Kisame retorted, baring his pointed teeth with a wide grin. "Oh, and that idea of burying Hidan… could you do it for now? It is easier to catch some sleep if I don't keep hearing his ravings in the distance all night."

"Fine."

When the two turn indoors, Guren released a sigh of which she didn't even know she was holding in. At least she found two people strong enough to liberate Yukimaru, she told herself, trying to ignore the unease she felt. The knowledge of being inferior compared to someone else was not one she appreciated. Although, with the true power of her shoton kekkei genkai still hidden, she knew she'd at least have the element of surprise in case she would be forced to fight these S-ranked monsters…

' _I just hope it is enough to get away with my life. And Yukimaru's.'_

* * *

A woman stood in front of a table, impatiently studying the map in front of her. The map covered all of Mizu no Kuni, and the various bases which they had throughout the nations. And the positions of their enemies. She was tall and slender, seemingly in her late twenties or early thirties. Her vibrant green eyes darted from left to right, quickly gathering the information her mind demanded.

She was the strongest warrior left, and therefore the de facto leader of the rebellion: Terumi Mei. Her long auburn hair and her stylish (yet surprisingly practical) dress would not give the impression that she was the trump card against Yagura, but all who had seen her in battle knew differently. In spite of her inclination to look at beautiful as she could, Mei was an extremely dangerous kunoichi.

Regardless of her individual skill, however, was the worry that her opponent was even stronger. Yagura was older than he appeared, and aside from being a highly capable shinobi in his own right, he was also backed by the might of the Sanbi. The three-tailed bijuu, that was rumored to have corrupted and destroyed Yagura's mind, had driven him to insanity, pushing him into a state which started the entire bloodline purges, causing the civil war that tore apart their nation.

When she was younger, Mei had admired Yagura for his strength and composure, yet he had fallen before the bijuu. Could she, even if she had the power of two kekkei genkai flowing through her veins, even hope to go where he had failed, defeating the monstrous turtle-like being?

Mei sighed and started at the map. She had spread her forces thin. The rebels had the upper hand, pushing those who remained loyal to Yagura back to the point where the majority was hiding behind the walls of Kirigakure, hiding behind their Mizukage. Spreading their forces had been a risky move for the rebels, but with Yagura passively watching how his nation fell apart, this was the strongest way to eradicate the loyalist forces. Every day they were allowed to roam free was one more day at which innocent people were targeted for the power of their blood. The rebels fought for the people.

Her blue dress, revealing as it was, even with the mesh armor she wore underneath, fluttered when Mei turned around. Her lips, clad in purple lipstick, squeezed together in mild disappointment when she saw who had entered.

"Ao, why are you here? I was waiting for reports."

"My apologies, Mei-sama, but this is urgent," Ao rattled. Mei noticed how out-of-breath he sounded, as if he had rushed to her as fast as he could. She wondered what could have unnerved him this much. Had he seen Yagura? Kiri did not have many left who could face a jonin like Ao. In fact, many of the people who still had enough intelligence to reach such a level of skill had already abandoned the loyalists. Except there were those who relished the cruel reign of the Yondaime Mizukage, of course. She wondered what drove people to like violence so much…

"Speak," she ordered him curtly.

"Three… people," Ao had an odd hesitation, as if he wasn't sure about what he had seen. "Three people are watching our encampment. The weakest of the three easily qualifies as a jonin, and the two stronger ones… one of them has a body unlike any I've ever seen before. It is like he has threads instead of flesh underneath his skin!"

Frowning, Mei looked at the map again. They had hidden on a relatively small island, their camp acting as headquarters for the entire rebel force, although it was currently only populated by a very small force. Those too young or old, those too weak, had already been evacuated elsewhere. The majority of their force was spread throughout the nation.

"Yagura?" she asked. It would be the worst possible moment if he decided to strike now. Their spies had said he had cooped himself up in his living quarters, that he wouldn't go out of Kirgakure unless the village was directly attacked. Had they been tricked? Had Yagura waited until she was relatively unprotected, to strike her down at the most opportune moment? If a new dispute on the leadership of the rebel forces erupted, it could give Yagura the chance he needed to turn the tides of this civil war.

"No," Ao shook his head. "But… the strongest chakra, the man with the threads: his chakra reserve is barely inferior to that of the Yondaime."

* * *

The encampment to which Guren had led them was practically abandoned, Naruto noted. This was where the trail had ended, where the Oto forces had been forced to retreat and await reinforcements. They weren't capable enough to engage the rebel forces, although Guren did add that there had been far more troops, last time she had been here.

"Rebels," Kakuzu grunted. "You said that the squad that stole that little brat was loyal to Kirigakure."

"We found traces of a fight. Two burnt corpses. We assume the other two are taken captive," Guren nodded towards the encampment. "They have taken Yukimaru too."

"So that Hozuki kid could just as well be dead?" Kakuzu hissed, his temper worsening drastically at the idea that he had wasted so much of his time for nothing.

"We could not say for sure."

"If that brat is dead, so are you."

"Calm yer tits," Naruto interfered. "There aren't many people down there. Twenty, I'd estimate. Several who could pass for jonin," he sensed through the roots in the earth. "One is stronger. Not just your regular A-rank opponent. Probably S-ranked. Must be someone who's worth something."

His bingo book already out of his pockets, Kakuzu quickly flipped through the bounties issued by Kirigakure. "Hmm. Kiri offered substantial bounties for the heads of the rebel leaders. Perhaps this isn't as much of a waste of time as I thought."

"They're starting to run around now. Like an anthill that took damage," Naruto noted, amused by the observation. From a distance, there wasn't much difference. "They must have a damn good sensor if they noticed us from this distance."

Kakuzu's finger stopped flipping pages, having found the right bounty. "Byakugan no Ao," his smirk might not be seen, due to the cloth in front of his mouth, but it could be heard. At least, Naruto heard it. He doubted that Guren would notice the subtle differences in the man's voice. "One of the leading figures within the rebellion, a jonin who has a byakugan stolen from a main-house Hyuga. He has both bounties on his head from Kiri _and_ Konoha."

"The Hyuga must be pretty pissed that someone stole their dojutsu," Naruto chuckled.

"Konoha's bounty is the highest, yes," Kakuzu's dark voice had something predatory. "Thirty million ryo is too nice to pass up."

"Strategy?"

"Their camp is big," Kakuzu frowned. "You stick outside, ensure that no one escapes, and attack at range. Removing that stupid wall is the first thing you'll have to do. I'll move in and kill everything that moves. We can look at the corpses later, and estimate their worth."

"What about Yukimaru?" Guren felt a slight panic when Kakuzu announced how he was planning to exterminate everyone. "We can't leave without-"

"You get that brat, if you want to," Kakuzu huffed. "I don't give a crap about him. Akatsuki needs the money more than that brat. Hm, now that I think about it, you'll also be the one who will fetch that Hozuki for us."

"There is one building at the center that has several rooms underground," Naruto supplied. "Probably where they keep their prisoners. I can't sense any civilians or children down there, though, so if that Yukimaru kid is somewhere, he's bound to be in those underground rooms. I can't say for sure, though. They must have barriers in place."

* * *

Life sucked. That was about the summary of what had happened during the last few years. After the death of his older brother at the hands of that rebel scum, and the increasing insanity of his Mizukage, with the violence spiraling out of control, this mission was really only a cherry on the cake.

' _Why on earth would Mizukage-sama want this sniveling little brat?'_ Hozuki Suigetsu thought, while lying on the rather uncomfortable ground of the cell in which he was imprisoned. Turning himself into water or no, with a cell reinforced by barriers there was no escape, even for him.

He could see the sweating and unconscious form of his teammate. The man had gotten injured, and it didn't seem like he would last that much longer. Suigetsu didn't really care. He was more worried about himself. The rebels had no love for him. Yagura had hunted down all people with kekkei genkai, yet had been big enough of a hypocrite to pardon some bloodlines. This made them collaborators, in the eyes of the rebels. Suigetsu, and especially his older brother Mangetsu, had been valued by the Yondaime. They were the new generation of the seven swordsmen, or what was left of them, anyway.

Wielding the Hiramekarei had not saved Suigetsu from being beaten. Then the rebels took the sword from him after they had paralyzed him. _'Stupid lightning-based attacks…'_

"Shut up!" he suddenly exclaimed, fed up with the child. "Really, brat, why do you _keep_ crying like that!? It's pathetic."

The boy did not respond, though. Yukimaru had been their target, a boy snatched away by Orochimaru, one of the world's most dangerous criminals. The mission had seemed like guaranteed suicide, but had ended up being pretty easy. There was no Orochimaru, and no particularly strong henchmen either. There was only a Kaguya, but he had been too sickly to pose much of a threat. Besides, what good had his kekkei genkai been against Suigetsu? Physical attacks were practically useless. On the other hand, no one lasted very long without air to breathe. And Suigetsu had the perfect ability to drown people.

Perhaps it was the ease of their mission that had made them slip up, lowering their guard just enough to walk into a simple trap. Out of nowhere, they had suddenly ended up being surrounded and overwhelmed by rebel forces. Worst of all being that damned Terumi…

Suddenly the door flew open, quite literally. Kicked out of its hinges, the entire thing was lofted into the big room to which the three prison cells were all connected. A young woman, clad in a green coat or dress (Suigetsu didn't bother with the specifics, fashion was too annoying to care about), walked in. She held some kind of pink crystal object in her hand, almost resembling a blade, which was dripping in blood.

"Guren-san!"

' _Oh fuck… Otogakure has come,_ ' Suigetsu paled. ' _And if they're crazy enough to invade this encampment, it must mean that Orochimaru has come as well.'_

Getting encased by crystal was the last thing which Suigetsu could remember before he passed out, deprived of oxygen. He hadn't even registered the sounds of explosions, nor Guren's hasty expression.

* * *

"Get out of my way, woman. It is not your head that I require," the man removed his cloak, unveiling his stitched-together body. Mei felt her brow twitch from the mere sight: ugly.

"Who are you? Why is Akatsuki targeting us?"

"O-ho, so you even know about our organization… well, it figures, considering we did quite a few jobs in the area," the man chuckled darkly. "Regardless, step away from that man. He's mine."

Looking behind her, Mei saw how Ao was panting. Considering the way he held his arm it was broken on several places. She had no idea what was going on. How could someone just barge through her forces like this? The blue-haired girl had that unusual kekkei genkai. Mei had never seen anyone with the shoton kekkei genkai before, and the way how she disposed of the men between her and the…

"You're after our prisoners," Mei concluded. "So you do work for Yagura."

"The latter statement is wrong," the man grumbled. "You're wasting my time. Unless you have a bounty on your head, piss off. It's the one with the byakugan who I want. Those thirty million ryo are mine."

Mei signaled the remainder of her men. "You two take Ao away. The rest, surround him."

"Wrong move, girl," the man bowed forward, and something – Mei didn't even want to describe it, other than saying that masks were emerging from his body – bulged out of his back. Four sentient masks, with bodies made of some sort of black thread, jumped out. They grew and grew until the four became monstrosities that towered even over the imposing man.

Without as much as a signal, truly indicating that the mask-monsters were sentient, the four beasts attacked. Wielding water, fire, lightning, or wind, the beings made short work of the rebels. Mei wanted to help, but she was pushed back. The Futon: Atsugai (Wind Release: Pressure Damage), in particular, destroyed a large part of the base.

"Hm, so the guy got away," the man remarked, seemingly not caring what his summons (or whatever they were) did. Mei peaked behind her, and Ao had indeed managed to get away. "Don't," he grunted when he saw her smile. "The brat is waiting outside. He'll know better than to let such a prize escape."

' _Akatsuki have always been seen in pairs. The girl wore the hitai-ate of Otogakure. Is Ao walking straight into the other man from Akatsuki?'_ Mei pondered, gathering all chakra to her lungs. Filling them with her favorite liquid. The acidic mud crashed forward, flowing over two of the thread-monsters, while the man was forced to jump back.

"Kekkei genkai… Hm, it seems I have to revise my strategy."

With a flash a light one of the monsters jumped out of Mei's attack. This was the monster with the lightning affinity. Small wonder it escaped, considering how the attack mostly relied on the earth element. The other beast, however, perished.

"I do hope you have a water affinity as well, because I need to restock," the man laughed darkly. The three remaining thread-monsters surrounded him, seemingly merging into his body again. "Katon: Zukkoku (Fire Release: Searing Migraine)."

Mei noticed the amount of chakra pushed into the attack, and for a moment she was confused by the small fireball that was fire from one of the man's masks. The masks had somehow merged with his body, appearing on his body like he was some kind of twisted voodoo doll. He had seemed to be reluctant when she entered the fray, but after unveiling his masks the man had stopped playing around. The relatively small fireball hit the ground, and the inferno that followed… Mei was glad she had created a distance, the precaution having saved her life, as it gave her the fraction of a second she needed to launch a suiton jutsu that prevented her from being roasted.

"Not bad," the man remained far too calm for Mei's liking. "Your judgment was correct. Still, there's too much of a gap in the battle experience between you and me, girl."

"It is considered a common courtesy to introduce yourself to a woman first," Mei narrowed her eyes at him. He couldn't be _that_ much older than she was, could he? Ten, or at most twenty, years older, she estimated. Not enough to really a reason to brag about a difference in experience, unless he thought she was younger than she actually was. It was a flattering thought, but unfortunately from the wrong man.

"Doton: Domu (Earth Release: Earth Spear)," his skin turned dark, and in a flash of movement he closed the distance between them. Mei was a ninjutsu specialist, but close combat wasn't bad. Her companions were either dead or at a distance, so there was no reason to be careful.

"Futton: Komu no Jutsu (Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique)," she breathed out a cloud of mist. The strong corrosive acid hitting her opponent's fist, who hissed in pain. He was fast, too fast to make her attack really hit home.

"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)," he blew the acidic mist away from himself, dispersing it in the process. Mei knew it was a relatively weak ability when used in the open air, but at close range it usually was extremely effective. Good enough to melt the flesh off her opponent's bones… usually. This man was different. His previous jutsu had given him defenses so strong that he only seemed to have suffered superficial damage from her attack.

The blue-haired girl emerged from the building where the underground prison was located. The unknown little boy who they had captured along with the Kiri jonin was on her back, allowing her to move quickly through the stronghold. She held a floating orb of crystal next to her, an orb that contained one of the men from Kiri, the Hozuki.

Already pressured with this one opponent, Mei wasn't looking forward to being outnumbered.

"Kakuzu-san, I'll return to Kunomori-san. Should I come back to aid you?"

"Just go," he growled at his… were they even allies? He didn't seem to treat her as such, and the girl seemed too scared for it as well, even though she hid it very well. Then again, Mei figured that there would be some fear on her face too. This guy was inhuman!

"So you're Kakuzu," Mei tried to buy time after the girl had sped past them. She hadn't made a move to try to stop her. Dragging another kekkei genkai user into the fight would only be stupid, especially if that girl had shown no intention of joining the battle. This fight was already bad enough as it was. Making it worse was not something she could afford. Things could not get much worse, if she was honest. Ninjutsu was her specialty, and so far Kakuzu had easily outclassed her in that area. "Telling someone your name is not so…"

Her voice trailed off, and Kakuzu's head slammed to the left. His eyes sprung wide open. There was a malicious, demonic chakra.

"Yagura," Mei groaned, her face pale as a ghost. "So you did work for that monster?"

"It would seem that you are lucky." Kakuzu abandoned his stance and stood straight, still looking at the area where the massive chakra was radiating from. "A jinchuriki is worth more than a rebel leader."

* * *

Screwing up the defenses of the rebels' stronghold was a piece of cake for Naruto. And when the handful of survivors came out of the gate, that was easily handled as well, although it did leave Naruto wondering how it was possible that Kakuzu's target had escaped from his grasp. Was there someone with a higher bounty in there? Naruto used his vines to kill the escapees, creating a Moku Bushin who dragged Kakuzu's target to him.

"I gotta do everything for the old bastard, don't I?"

Hands pressed to the ground, Naruto closed his eyes. He realized that Kakuzu was battling the strongest chakra signal among the rebels. Perhaps it was the leader, who would undoubtedly fetch a nice price as well. He also noticed how Zetsu was inbound, fast as always. On this lush little island, Naruto's senses covered the entire landmass. Unfortunately, he remained blind to everything that was on the water. Travelling by boat had not been an experience Naruto liked all that much. It was far worse than last time, feeling blind without being able to sense the world through the surrounding flora.

While he could use the flora growing in shallow waters, such as kelp, water lilies, reeds, and lotus, these surrounding seas made things more difficult. Reaching out that deep through the ever-moving water was way an entirely different matter from letting chakra flow through the unmoving earth and rock. He made a mental note that he required more training to cope with these environments. Perhaps he could reach out and manipulate smaller things like algae and plankton too?

"Hellooo!" White Zetsu was as cheerful as ever. "Long time no see, Naruto-kun."

"Why are you here, Zetsu, and where's your other half?"

"He's elsewhere," Zetsu brushed it off with a grin. "But you've got bigger issues."

Naruto's cerulean eyes were dragged away from the plant-like human, or human-like plant, depending on how you looked at Zetsu.

"Seems like you felt him enter the island," Zetsu nodded. "You must try to capture him. Alive."

"You're kidding me, right?" Naruto blinked. "Who is that guy? This chakra… it almost puts Kisame to shame!"

"A jinchuriki," Zetsu gave Naruto a confusingly knowing smile. What was it that amused Zetsu so much? Naruto figured that it was because this was someone who could kill him, something which Zetsu and Kakuzu had been trying to do for quite some time now. "Your mokuton should be useful in this battle. Remember, don't kill him."

"Or else?" Naruto scoffed. Zetsu's silence was enough of an indication. Failure was pain, in the best case, or death, in the worst case. Perhaps this was why Zetsu had kept Naruto alive? Perhaps this was why Kakuzu had drilled him, making him used to fighting superior opponents? Perhaps Akatsuki needed the jinchuriki, or their bijuu, for this war of which Kakuzu had spoken.

Little did he know that he was a jinchuriki too. Only Zetsu and Kakuzu were aware of that fact, the latter keeping his silence due to Zetsu's plan. The mokuton kekkei genkai made sure no one else could notice the sealed creature.

His eyes closed, gathering as much chakra as he could, Naruto waited until his enemy appeared. The speed at which the jinchuriki moved unnerved Naruto. Yagura, the fourth Mizukage of Kirgakure, the third jinchuriki rumored to have gained control of the bijuu that was sealed within him, was not an enemy to be trifled with.

In spite of his reputation, the outward appearance of the jinchuriki somewhat disappointed Naruto. Yagura seemed to be little more than a boy, smaller even than Naruto was. Still, Naruto knew that Yagura was an adult. His height, his messy-grey hair, pink pupil-less eyes, and stitch-like scar running over his face, however, made Naruto almost think that he was mistaken. Yagura wore a grey, sleeveless shirt with the Kirigakure forehead protector attached to the front, short-sleeved mesh armor over which he also had a green poncho along with a turquoise sash around his waist, paired with a green apron over his pants. In his hands, the man-appearing-to-be-a-boy carried a staff-like pole weapon with hooks on the top and bottom. Strangely, the staff had what seemed to be a green flower at the larger upper hook.

It all fit the description that Naruto once found in Kakuzu's bingo book, although he had believed that the information had been outdated when it considered Yagura's height and apparent age. Then again, many jinchuriki were 'blessed' with unusual abilities.

"Yo," Naruto made himself known. It seemed like Yagura was more interested in getting to the encampment, probably because the rebels were his enemies. The pupil-less pink eyes stared into Naruto's cerulean eyes. The eyes scanned over the young mokuton user, but when Yagura couldn't find any hitai-ate or symbols indicating that Naruto was one of the rebels, he averted his attention.

"Begone."

"You're quite rude for someone so short, you know…"

The glare, accompanied by the murderous intent that radiated from the chakra which Yagura generated so casually, made Naruto a bit anxious at first, but it was also… exhilarating. The knowledge that his life was on the line was one of the few emotions which Naruto had. Neither Zetsu nor Kakuzu cared much about him, other than the worry that their 'tool' was functional. But a normal human life was something Naruto had never experienced. It would be better said that could not remember that he had ever experienced it. The tranquility of nature or the vortex of emotions from the humans, Naruto dangled somewhere in-between. Having lived his life, as far as he could recall at least, as a bounty hunter, this _hunt_ was one of the few things that gave life meaning.

This was like hunting a superior predator, one that wasn't playing around, like Kisame, or withholding the killing blow because it held no profit, like Kakuzu. No, Yagura would trample him, if Naruto wasn't careful. One mistake, and it would be all over.

A crimson hue of chakra appeared around Yagura, and his staff lashed out to Naruto's head, which the latter answered by blocking with a tree. Yagura's eyes widened slightly, if only for a moment, before he dodged Naruto's follow-up attack.

"Seems like you're even fast enough to evade my underground attacks," Naruto allowed the vines to sink back. "This is going to be a pain in the ass…"

"Then you should not have sided with those traitors," Yagura's voice was as lithe as his build.

"Those rebels? Neh, they're just prey," Naruto shrugged. "Just like you."

"So you fight without purpose… how pitiful."

"Wrong again, I fight to survive. To become free."

"Foolish," Yagura let more of the Sanbi's chakra flow through him. "All shinobi are tools for their superiors to use. All those who defy their Kage should perish. There is no place for traitors in this world!"

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Some explaining on timelines… we don't know for a fact when Yagura was killed, nor when Obito put him under a genjutsu. I assumed that Yagura was trapped in a genjutsu sometime between the moment that Madara 'recruited' Obito and the moment when Itachi killed Obito. Also, Kisame discovered that Yagura was manipulated before Obito got killed. Without Obito, however, how was Yagura to respond? His nation in war, the bloodline purges well under way, and all without him knowing precisely what made him do it. As such, there still came a civil war. As for why Yagura entered the scene… you'll find the answer in the next chapter!

For the record: all bounties collected by Kakuzu and Naruto are used to fund Akatsuki. Well, after Kakuzu took his cut, of course. Let's say he runs a double administration and evades taxes. Don't tell the Spanish authorities, though, they're quite busy hunting those who try to evade paying taxes. Thinking about it, Naruto hasn't paid a single Ryo in since he lost his memories…

Nigete, Foresuto-kun, nigete!

p.s. **Illuminated** says Naruto probably makes boles to serve meals out in the field. Ziltoid notes that he grows his own chopsticks too. Though, he uses poisonous thorns to make chopsticks for Hidan. The dude won't die, but Naruto and Kisame sure as hell enjoy seeing Hidan get poisoned.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	4. Seeing the World

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Four**

 **Seeing the World**

* * *

" _The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances."_

― Agatha Christie

* * *

"All shinobi are tools for their superiors to use. All those who defy their Kage should perish. There is no place for traitors in this world!"

Whether Yagura was stronger than him or not, Naruto could only feel disdain. "So you exist to subdue others to your will?" the young blond frowned. A blast of water was his answer. It seemed almost lazily how Naruto diverted the attack, commanding the flora around him with a mere flick of his fingers.

Yagura was upon him within the blink of an eye. His speed too great for Naruto to dodge, the mokuton user exchanged places with his Moku Bunshin, which shattered when Yagura's staff hit its head.

"Damn," Naruto whistled. Trees sprouted from the ground, the wood wrapping itself around the boy. Strengthening the defenses seemed like a wise choice right now. It wasn't quite as strong as Kakuzu's Doton: Domu, but it was more flexible and a lot lighter. "Tiger. Ram. Snake. Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan! (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)"

Trees erupted from the ground in a wide circle around Naruto, growing from tiny branches to mighty decade old oaks. But they didn't close in on Yagura. Naruto had learned another trick from Madara's notes. "Mokuton: Kajukai Korin (Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees)."

Vines spread over the trees, and the flowers on the vines expelled pollen into the atmosphere which would render Yagura unconscious. Or at least, that was the idea. Naruto had never tried it out on a real opponent before. He tried it on a Moku Bunshin of himself, but considering how he was immune to his own jutsu…

Quantity over quality was Naruto's credo right now. He sacrificed much of his chakra, in the hope that this gamble would turn out to be effective. He knew that a battle of attrition would not be in his favor. The flowers grew huge, man-sized, and the clouds of pollen created a green-yellow mist which the eye couldn't pierce.

Perhaps it was due to Naruto's inexperience that he messed up. Or perhaps it was just stupid in itself. Not being able to see an opponent who you knew possessed superior speed, and not being guarded enough was… well, it was almost lethal. Only the wooden armor allowed him to survive, although it shattered under Yagura's fist.

A dense layer of blood-red chakra enveloped the Mizukage, three tails swirling behind him. The sheer chakra which his opponent expelled made Naruto marvel about the fact that he survived the hit. More on instinct than due to conscious thought, Naruto flapped his hands together. Chakra flowed through the ground, and the trees responded, protecting their master, softening his landing. Another part of the freshly-created forest wrapped itself around Yagura. Trying to bind him, trying to inhibit him from moving, and…

"Two tails? There were three just… or is this why Zetsu told me my mokuton was useful?" Naruto blinked. Yagura, stronger or not, actually struggled to break free from the forest's grasp. The sudden influx of chakra forced Naruto to his knees. Was this Yagura's accursed chakra? The Kage's power being suppressed by the forest, Naruto felt his own power rise at an incredible rate, and his mind went out.

His blue eyes stared blankly, and he lost himself, lost himself into the nature around him, into the vast energy of the world. This went beyond the chakra of Yagura and the Sanbi. This was the world. An energy which made every individual, no matter how strong, pale in comparison. It was a power which overthrew his sanity. Only for the churning source of chakra within him to erupt, grasping for control while Naruto was unconscious.

…and now Kakuzu wasn't here to stop Naruto's rampage.

* * *

She held Yukimaru on her back, the boy desperately clung to her, almost as if he hugged her, while carrying her master's desired test subject in a floating crystal orb behind her. Guren had been startled by the first sickening wave of chakra, but had decided to head forward. Whatever it was, Kunomori was there too. The blond mokuton user would either take care of it himself, or she would be able to aid him.

A haughty part of her mind actually hoped for the latter. For a chance to prove her worth. To prove that she too was strong. The boy who, so easily, had made her doubt her own pride. Just like Orochimaru, all those years ago, had rattled her beliefs. His strength had shown her that she wasn't as special and alone as she had believed herself to be. And Kunomori was just like Orochimaru. At least, in terms of raw strength.

The boy's personality was completely different. He was someone who seemed to be searching for his own position in the world, searching for goals and motivations. He just walked through life while not seeming to have a true understanding of who he was. Orochimaru was fundamentally different. The snake sannin was someone who always seemed many steps ahead of everyone else. His personality was a magnet to those who admired and desired strength. Much unlike the boy. Kunomori didn't seem to have a shred of interest in the abilities of another. Well, unless they were worth something, Guren supposed. The boy was a bounty hunter, after all.

The opponent he fought only seemed to grow stronger, the chakra levels reaching heights which she had believed to be impossible. Yukimaru's grip tightened and he screamed something unintelligible to her. Too distracted, Guren barely noticed the corpses of several of the rebels. Among which the one whom Kakuzu and Kunomori had been after. Guren dropped her prisoner, and shook off Yukimaru.

"Yukimaru, stay here."

"G-Guren-san, don't leave me," the boy shivered. For a moment she wondered what she was even doing. He shouldn't be here. Not with these corpses. She had to take him away, far away, so that he was safe. She owed that to his mother. But… that conflicted with her master's wishes…

A second surge of chakra drew her from her thoughts. Trees twisted, flowers withered, grass died off. All life seemed to aggregate into one.

"Kunomori…" she paled. "How can his power rise like this? Has he been holding back during that insane pissing contest against Kisame?"

"W-who is that, Guren-san?" Yukimaru grabbed the green cloth of her robe. "This p-power… it feels…"

"Yukimaru, you should stay here. I'm going to have to help him," Guren made her decision. Whoever it was, if this person defeated Kunomori, she and Yukimaru would be the next in line. On her own she wouldn't be able to kill someone with such a monstrous chakra, but alongside Kunomori… it was the safest bet.

"No! I want to stay with you!"

"There is no time for this," Guren snapped, immediately feeling a guilt she couldn't understand at the sight of his dejected face. He had seemed to be so happy when he saw her again, when she freed him. But this… it was like his continuous attempt to please her. A little puppy, too good of faith, especially when compared to someone as despicable as she was, Guren considered.

* * *

"Yagura," Mei groaned, her face pale as a ghost. "So you did work for that monster?"

"It would seem that you are lucky." Kakuzu abandoned his stance and stood straight, still looking at the area where the massive chakra was radiating from. "A jinchuriki is worth more than a rebel leader."

He had to lean backwards to avoid the lava-based attack which she just spat at him. "Like hell Kiri is just going to give up its bijuu!"

"You really are a troublesome bitch," Kakuzu snarled. "All I came for was that eye-patch's bounty. You should have walked away a let me get my thirty million ryo." Two of his masks shifted position, moving towards his shoulders. His body seemingly reconstructed itself, the loose parts adjusting to his commands, his entire body essentially no more than a mass of black threads, the power of Jiongu (Earth Grudge Fear), all for the sake of gaining more power. Long black tentacles came from his neck, like some kind of horrific parody on an octopus. The cloth that had hidden his face had long been discarded, and the stiches next to his mouth unraveled. The mouths of his two masks spurred open, and his own followed by example.

And suddenly Mei was covered in white goo. Sticky, like dough, and strangely it grew while Mei felt her chakra reserves plummet.

A strange man, half white, half black, emerged from the ground. His body enveloped in what appeared to be a large Venus flytrap. It cheerfully waved at her. "Hellooo Mei-chan! **Be silent, we've got more pressing matters to deal with.** "

"Zetsu," Kakuzu abandoned his attack, although he was seriously tempted to just blast Zetsu to smithereens along with Mei. Still, Zetsu had proven himself very useful at tracking down bounties, which was pretty much the only reason why Kakuzu decided against it. "What are you doing here?"

"Our little boy **is battling a jinchuriki** , Kakuzu," White Zetsu nodded vehemently. "It seems like he will be going on a rampage again. **We can't let him kill the Sanbi.** So you need to stop him. **Besides, this woman doesn't need to perish.** Not today, at least!"

Zetsu recoiled from the hateful glare Kakuzu sent his way.

" **Without the Mizukage being in his office, this woman isn't worth a single ryo**. That's not true, I'd pay good money to eat her! **And that's why I call you an idiot.** "

"She annoyed me," Kakuzu growled. "So she dies."

" **She's more useful as the next Mizukage. She's easily the most powerful among the rebel forces, after all.** Yes, and now Mei-chan knows how awesome we are. **Yagura was unreliable, dangerous, but the next Mizukage should be more… reasonable.** Mei-chan knows what we can do, so in return for us removing the Yondaime Mizukage, **Kirigakure should close their eyes for our organization. Both parties profit.** Unless Mei-chan wants a war she can't win," White Zetsu added with a sing-along tone of voice.

"What… what are you?" Mei panted. She had been seconds away from death, but Kakuzu suddenly had abandoned his attack. If not for this strange 'Zetsu', who knows what kind of insane attack he would have launched, especially now that she realized that each mask had wielded a different element. So two masks and Kakuzu himself together… three elements… and then this white creature popped up. In fact, now that she looked at the white mass surrounding her, she saw four white faces, similar to the white half of the plant-man in front of her.

"We are your children!" the four clones sang in their annoyingly high-pitched voices. "Mommy, mommy, feed us with your chakra, we are you kiddies, feed us with your large ti-"

" **SHUT UP! Dammit, your clones are just as annoying as you are. Childish idiot.** They were just little spores, and Mei-chan's chakra gave them life. **That doesn't make her their mother. Reign in your stupid copies.** Spoilsport."

"…I should just have killed you all," Kakuzu growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. But he didn't kill them. He turned around and marched off to where Naruto was fighting Yagura. Only to start cursing when he felt the boy's chakra surge. Even worse than usual. Damn. Kakuzu acknowledged the boy's growth, realizing that the time would soon come that Naruto would be capable of matching him in power. That would be a battle with a grandeur which Kakuzu hadn't felt in ages. But for that, the boy first had to survive today's battle. "Fine, she lives. The jinchuriki is our first priority anyway. Now get lost and let us do our job, woman. Even if I don't care about Kiri, I know that Kisame would love to visit his old home again."

"Oh yes. **But if Kisame comes to Kiri, so will Hidan.** And Hidan doesn't like it when people breathe. **That massacre would create a great feast for us, though.** But if you get a bounty Kakuzu will do it himself. **So choose wisely** , Mei-chan! Byebye!"

* * *

The infinite void that was masked from the mortal eye. The true reality that was normally shrouded by perception. This was the world as it truly was, not the world as an individual would perceive it. Unhindered by opinions or interpretations. Unbiased. Without the limitations imposed by the human senses. Not constructed by an individual's perceptions.

But therein lay the problem. Roots that went to the center of the earth. Branches spanning across the horizon. Trees higher than the clouds. There was no frame of reference. It was an endless ocean, and he lay adrift. Lost. No sense of top and bottom, left or right, there were no directions. Or there were simply too many for his mind to process. He was at one place, and the other, and yet one more… there came no end to the points from where he perceived the world. Perception, not as a human, not as an individual, but as nature itself: a multitude rather than an individual.

His mind was not prepared for such a task. It could not fathom the innumerable amount of information. Defining the indefinable was something one shouldn't even attempt to try. One should accept that it was impossible to define, and maintain a sense of self. Unfortunately, his sense of self was too weak to resist the strain.

The ocean of energy which the world provided. Which circulated, unseen by all. Conception, birth, growth, adolescence, reproduction, maturing, declining, dying, and ultimately decaying. It was a circle. An unending cycle. As a human he had had a reference within the passing of time, of the place he stood. But outside himself, he saw the circle as-it-was, unbiased, and unhindered by his own ignorance. How does one determine the beginning and the end of a perfect circle?

Grasping the unfathomable, when it was already wisdom if one had only a tiny image of what life entailed, how was someone as ignorant as he supposed to do that? He could not. He could only see the dots, if he was really lucky. He could barely remember where, when, or why. He saw dots, but without knowing the circumstances all dots looked identical. Everything looking the same, there was no understanding, no memory, nothing to connect or locate the dots.

He was part of the circle of life and death. Even if his mind stepped out, he knew his body was somewhere within this chaotic maze of energy. Energy, the complete and fundamental essence of the world. Energy that brought life, and ultimately deprived it of life. All is nature. All things arise from the energy of nature. Virtue nurtured it, vice deprived it.

Never before had he submerged this deep into this boundless world of energy. There was always something disrupting him. A disruption leading to him waking, oft amidst a scene of destruction, looking at the face of his scowling companion, where he was once again lost and confused as he was bound within the limitations of his senses. As a drop within a river, he could not perceive the continuum of life. Bound by his body, he could not truly fathom the interconnectedness of the world. How one fed and was food, fueling the relentless and endless march of existence.

From here, he saw how futile the notion of progress was. How foolish decline was. How one thing led to the other. How history was nothing more than the interlinking of life and death, of progress and decline, of beginnings and endings. Out here, he saw his arrogance. The utter pointlessness of his existence. Yet at the same time, the unfathomable worth of his life. This paradox, it only confused, and brought the realization that this confusion was the path to understanding. Not that anyone ever reached the end of that path. Belief in understanding removed the confusion, thus removing the chance at understanding.

There was no ending. There was not beginning. There was.

Not being was not even a point. Everything that was, never ended. Birth was not the beginning. Death was not the ending. All energy flowed, like the ebb and flow, the tides of existence. The dead decayed, feeding life. The living fed, continuing its individual existence at the cost of the other individual beings, while given birth to new life as well. Borders, limits, barriers… what he knew as life was merely a delimited form of energy. A temporal body, consuming and expelling, generating and consuming, but ultimately a temporarily form of existence. Energy floated around, souls returned; while the self passed on to the afterlife, the physical energy dispersed.

His birth came forth from energy generated by others, his parents. His growth, from the food provided by the world around him, by the people who nurtured him, and later by himself, until his temporal form reached the level at which it was now. But the energy he now contained did not begin with his conception, nor did it end at his death. It lasted forever, ever changing form, never seizing to change. The temporal form wished to halt change, fearing the end of the individual existence. It was only because they could not fathom the circle, that they lived with fear. A fear that death ended existence.

Death is the road to awe.

He saw it now. For the first time, he saw it. Death was birth. The act of killing was the release of the constrained energy, bringing chance of new birth. Birth, which mankind so cherished. But it was not his purpose. Death was part of life, so who was he to determine who did what? Would he do that from his position within the continuum? From his imperfect senses, which were so bound by the individual he was? How was one temporal existence supposed to judge the other?

They were different, yes. They were all different. None was equal. And yet they were all the same. All temporal. The tree, the insect, the animal, the human… all designations invented by mankind, bound in judgment by their temporal existence, unable to oversee the circle, incapable of truly understanding.

For the first time, he accepted that he _knew_ nothing.

And yet, he was. Time was merely a sense, a matter relative to the length of the temporal nature of existence. Energy was eternal. He was insignificant. But within him lay the truth. Eternity, the everlasting and ever changing energy. He only borrowed it, only for a little while. That thought, as if it directed his perception on the chaos of unfiltered information around him, narrowed his vision on his temporal existence. The physical and spiritual energies that composed and fueled his body, plus something else… something hidden, veiled, deep within himself, but not hidden to the unbiased eye.

The unbiased eye that burned itself on his forehead. Vaguely, he realized he was Naruto. Part Naruto, or what little was left of Naruto, and part something else. The remnants of that what had been Tobi. Foreign tissue which compensated for what Naruto had lost. A right arm, the legs, and parts of his torso, it was made of a substance which fell within the domain of his kekkei genkai. Not wood, not flesh, but something in between. His unbiased eye made him see. Even the shrouded source of an even greater power within himself.

His unbiased eye tore his consciousness from the intangible realm of natural energy, and returned it to the body that was bound to the continuum of life. Fragments of what he had seen remained, imprinting him with an understanding that he did not understand. The pain which the unbiased eye caused blinded him. It was ironic how it was blinding pain that enabled him to see.

* * *

And what did he see? Naruto opened his eyes, his forehead burning, his arm, legs, and torso feeling foreign yet stronger than ever, and welcomed by the sight of a crystal wall. Solidified and condensed mineral, crystallized down to a cellular level by the use of chakra. It was strong, very strong, but only as strong and the energy that created it. Chakra formed the foundation of its creation, and as such it did also form the way for it to be destroyed. It all seemed so simple now.

He lifted his right arm, one finger touching the cold crystal wall, and his mokuton pierced it. Sounds and smells, a plethora of impressions attacked his senses, it was as if the burning unbiased eye had opened up his world. He knew he was still blinded, ignorant and lost, but he was… for a moment he thought he was beginning to see the path. But he resisted the mere idea. It was an arrogant notion, thinking that his perception was right, and it would only lead to blindness. Only by looking at nothing he would stand a chance at _seeing_ , but he knew darn well that he was too ignorant to achieve that.

The entire environment had changed since he had blacked out. Trees, torn and broken, stood everywhere. Vines grew in abundance. Craters littered his surroundings, as numerous as the blobs of crystal. Naruto's eyes fell on a piece of crystal that moved. It was Guren, actually, clad in a thick armor of crystal. Although the armor seemed only moderately effective, judging by the numerous wounds she had sustained. Her crystal armor, in fact, looked more reddish than pink, as the crystal used to look.

She had made mirrors and clones, pillars and walls, but the enraged jinchuriki had slammed his way through it all. Back to three tails, the blood-red cloak made Yagura nigh invulnerable. Oddly, when he landed a hit on Guren, the girl immediately shed the part on which he had hit her. A stony substance grew over the part which she had lost, the part his claw had touched. The power of the Sangosho (Coral Palm), which made Yagura so incredibly difficult to deal with when fighting at close range.

Naruto could not really explain, but somehow Yagura did not appear to be as imposing as he had done before. Sure, his power was vast, but it was insignificant compared to the bottomless power which Naruto had just witnessed. While he was uncertain whether what he had seen had been reality or merely a dream, the burning pain on his forehead told him that it had been reality. That this, the world he perceived, was imperfect, but somewhere behind was the true world, unbiased and untouched by his morals and prejudices.

Was it because he still saw some of that energy? Was it because some of it strengthened him? Or was it that this 'something' within him was even greater? Naruto wondered who he was. He wondered how many lies Zetsu had fed him. Even the scrolls and books which Zetsu had provided were incomplete. Although that could also be credited to Madara's incomplete understanding of his rival's powers. The only one who had understood mokuton was Hashirama, and sharingan or no, one did not completely understand a jutsu by just _seeing_ it. Well, perhaps only the deities could, those from the book which he had taken from that temple where he had slain Deidara, but mortals wouldn't be able to do what deities could.

Of course, Madara had unraveled the secrets of wielding chakra to a far greater degree than Naruto had, and he was a true genius, unlike Naruto. Naruto held no illusions about his intellect. A downside of only having knowledge on interacting with the likes of Zetsu (White Zetsu may be stupid, but Black Zetsu was deceptively intelligent) or Kakuzu. S-ranked shinobi did not attain their skill due to stupidity. Except for Hidan. Hidan was pretty much an exception to every rule in the book.

Her reserves were dwindling; he could sense that through the roots in the earth. Guren was struggling for survival. And yet she had erected a barrier around him. Why? The thought confused him. Considering the extent of the destruction his body had lashed out while his mind had gone on its little walkabout. Why had she protected him? Or had she sealed him off in order to protect herself? But if he was that dangerous, he would have formed a threat to Yagura as well…

"Why did you protect me, Guren?" Naruto stepped forward fast but clumsily, almost having miscalculated the amount of chakra he had put to his feet. Her eyes went wide in shock at his sudden appearance, although he idly wondered why she looked at his forehead like that. The pain did burn there, but he hadn't expected it to be visible. It felt more like something had happened to his tenketsu, not his skin.

"W-what… watch out!"

Naruto didn't even move, but an intertwined wall of wood blocked Yagura's strike. "Why did you protect me? You should have taken our targets, and left."

"I… I couldn't… it would have been wrong to abandon you. You are part of the same organization as Orochimaru-sama. As his servant, I could not let you perish."

' _It seemed like she was searching for an explanation. Is she lying? But why? Such a lie would not serve any purpose,'_ Naruto frowned, one eyebrow lifted, the other brought down. His blue eyes tried to figure out the mystery. Zetsu and Kakuzu were easy to understand: they were using him. Naruto had no idea what kind of secrets they hid from him, but the part of him being a tool was very clear. But this girl, this Guren, she was a deviation. She was not like any of the people he had hunted. No fear, no desperation, at the realization of his power. "I don't understand," he admitted. "I wonder why anyone would risk anything to protect another. Then again… the preservation of life seems to be a normal instinct. Perhaps it can extend to the lives of others too?"

"Uhm… I guess?" Guren's eyes were flashing around, looking for the attacking jinchuriki, too distracted to ponder about Naruto's words.

"I see. Then strength is not for greed, nor for the subduing of others, but for protection? It feels oddly familiar. It feels right. Yes, I suppose that is what I have to do."

"Shouldn't you focus on-"

"Yagura has jumped back, nearly sixty feet there," he pointed in the direction hidden by his wooden wall. "He is amassing more chakra. I wonder why."

"Idiot, kill him, don't just stand there!"

"Zetsu wants him alive," Naruto chuckled, unbothered by his opponent. "But I _do_ have to beat him." He strode forward, the wooden wall reconstructing itself. Mokuton was an expression of life, it did not begin or end, only changed form. What limitations the limitless had were simply those imposed by the mind of the observer. And he had still so many limitations. ' _I wish I know which limitations I had. Makes it easier to deal with them. Then again, not-knowing seems to be… fundamental. Why else would life hold any value?'_

Trees merged, thickened, condensed, and plunged into the soil underneath his feet. Chakra, more than he had ever wielded before, flowed into the earth. Preparing to attack. Preparing to counter an attack. Preparing a prison as strong as Naruto could muster. But Yagura was still stronger, Naruto knew. This strange synchronization had granted Naruto great power, enough to almost make him overconfident, but he had yet to understand how to properly use it. The sobering reality was that Yagura summoned power from the Sanbi, and he had a firm understanding of that chakra.

' _I hope that greedy old bastard is done soon. I'm going need help at this rate…'_

* * *

"This mission seems to be a failure," a rotund teenage complained. Somehow, from somewhere, he pulled out a bag of consommé chips (his favorite) and started chewing. The youth, clad in a red suit, wore a grey plated armor on his torso, arms, and upper legs, upon which stood the kanji for 'food'.

While Akimichi Choji occasionally complained about missions, he rarely got the chance to do so. His teammates, Nara Shikamaru and Yamanaka Ino, usually took the initiative in that contrast. Those two, however, were uncharacteristically silent.

"Seems like it wasn't," Asuma chuckled softly. "Come on, teamwork! Share what you've learned today."

They had investigated a village in the north of Hi no Kuni, close to the borders. It had recently been under the attack from a band of bandits. Not unusual, was it not for two bounty hunters taking care of the bandits. The group had been led by a missing-nin from Kumo, but apparently the man had died easily. Too easy, if Asuma could make any estimation of the man's skills based on the information from the bingo book. However, what had drawn the attention from Tsunade, who had sent out team ten, was that the village had been rebuilt in the course of a day.

"Someone _created_ those new buildings," Shikamaru sighed. "It is the mokuton kekkei genkai."

"Is there no other explanation?" Asuma tested.

"The houses were made out of one sort of wood, in its entirety. It is impossible to find a wooden building that big that consists of the wood of only one tree. There aren't trees big enough here. And to import wood from a tree that size is something way beyond the funds that village has. And unlikely as it is for one house, what are the odds for twenty-two?"

"You could also have pointed out that there were minor traces of residual chakra in the wood," Asuma provided. "I couldn't take a good sample, though. But it was the response of the villagers that confused me, to be honest."

He and Shikamaru looked at Ino, who still had that solemn look on her face. "Ino?" Shikamaru eventually decided to drag her out of her musings. Even since team seven had perished, Ino had been like this, and while he, Choji, and Asuma did what they could, they couldn't really help her. Sakura had been one of Ino's closest friends, and Naruto… ' _They practically grew up together. And Ino was never too secretive about how she felt,'_ the young Nara sighed.

"No one wanted to talk, so I… I took a look inside the mind of the village elder," Ino mumbled, obviously very distracted by something. Shikamaru wondered why, as this didn't seem to be distraction caused by those who were lost to them, but caused by what she had seen in those memories.

"What did you see?" he narrowed his eyes.

"The people. One a man, tall and barely recognizable due to the mask he wore. He had a black cloak covered with symbols of a red cloud," Ino explained.

"And the other?" Asuma was one of the few who knew about those red clouds. While Akatsuki did not really disturb Konoha, there were accounts on them taking missions that involved Konoha shinobi. All of those accounts boiled down to one thing: if you saw someone wearing a robe with red clouds, you'd better step away. Akatsuki was an organization that couldn't be trifled with, with for instance someone as Orochimaru within their ranks. Asuma also knew that the people from Akatsuki always travelled in duos.

"The other was younger… our age, I think… although the elder couldn't see his face," Ino hesitated. "He wore a similar cloak, high collared to the point where I could not see the lower half of his face."

"Also with red clouds on the robe?"

"No, it was just black," Ino shook her head, still with that peculiar look in her eyes.

"…and?" Shikamaru wondered. "What is it about this that got you so spooked, Ino?"

"It was that boy who created the buildings. He did the work, and the tall one with the red clouds asked money for his services. In the end the villagers paid a relatively low price for high quality houses… but it is that boy that confuses me."

"Why?"

"He had blond hair, spiky, that hung down to his shoulders. And his eyes… those cerulean eyes… they were similar… and still so different. So empty. So unlike-"

"You don't… Ino, you know that he's… you know who," Shikamaru hesitated. He still didn't want to say it. Naruto had grown up among the Yamanaka, and as such Shikamaru had also regularly seen him. After all, his father had often dragged him along when he had visited Inoichi and his family.

"Naruto-kun had vibrant eyes, this cloaked boy's eyes were… dead," Ino said, although it seemed more like she tried to convince herself that her thoughts were just a foolish wish. "There are more blonde people with blue eyes. I know it can't be Naruto-kun. Naruto-kun is… but for a moment… I just… _hoped_."

Asuma saw the girl water up, and pulled her into a fatherly embrace. No matter if years had passed, the girl had never really gotten over it. There had been an abundance of blood, there had been tattered clothes, a broken hitai-ate, but with most of the body missing there always remained a foolish doubt. All that they had buried were an arm and parts of the boy's legs.

The Sarutobi jonin knew that bodies often went missing. High-ranked jutsu had a bad tendency of not leaving too much of the bodies recognizable. Some jutsu even disintegrated the body completely. But what had been buried at Naruto's funeral was more than just those three limbs. The heart and will of the Hokage had been broken, although everyone knew that Tsunade held herself strong, enduring for the sake of his memory. Similarly, Jiraiya of the sannin had also not been seen afterwards. Rumor had it that he still sent reports, but otherwise the man had vanished. Even the critically acclaimed Ichi Icha series had seized getting new releases.

Aside from those two, the Yamanaka had been hit the worst. From his father, Asuma had come to understand that Naruto was living among that clan in order to hide him from prying eyes. At first, Asuma had assumed it was because of the boy's status as jinchuriki, but in a drunken stupor Tsunade had revealed the horrible truth. The jinchuriki, a boy that had been despised by many for the demon which had been sealed within him, had actually been the son of the very man who had sealed the Kyuubi away, Namikaze Minato, the Yondaime Hokage.

With the grudge that especially Iwagakure carried against the father, it had been important to Sarutobi Hiruzen to make sure that the son wouldn't be noticed. Hiding him among blondes had seemed like a wise decision, one which simultaneously ensured that the boy would be cared for, educated, and trained. To make sure he grew up as a strong and promising genin, with a mind strong enough to face down the Kyuubi when the time would come.

But none of it had been enough to prevent Ino from getting her heart broken…

* * *

Standing in front of the Mizukage had demanded a certain amount of courage, or perhaps even insanity. But this… this was incomparable. This was what it meant to be a perfect jinchuriki. This was why the man had been unrivaled within Kirigakure. One eye, the right one, was constantly closed. The other, red with crimson pupils with a ripple-like pattern, had a mad glint.

What broke through Naruto's reinforced prison was nothing less than a monster. The Sanbi, the three-tailed bijuu, resembled a humongous turtle, but with a crab-like shell that was covered in spikes. Its three tails were best described as shrimp-like, although it was an ironic way to describe something so gigantic. Underneath its shell the creature had red, muscle-like tissue, relatively weak compared to the hard shell and yet still tough as nails. Its human-like arms were equally huge, and a mere swing tore through every attack that Naruto could attempt.

"What the hell," the young mokuton user was starting to feel out of breath. "Guren, you see any way to take this bastard down?"

"His face is concealed between that stone-like outgrowth at his forehead and lower jaw. Would that be its weakness?"

"How are you keeping up?"

"I don't have much left," Guren admitted. Her chakra had been running low before Naruto, she believed his name was Kunomori, had rejoined the battle. But against this unstoppable beast, what chance did she have? Perhaps with another year of training she could have been able to encase the entire demon in crystal, but even that… she wondered if that would have any effect.

With Yagura's mind and the bijuu's own imposing might, this was probably one of the strongest adversaries Guren could find in the entire world. One where even her master, Orochimaru, would be hard pressed. Although it was a safe bet to say that Orochimaru would have found a way to decide the battle before Yagura had unleashed the Sanbi.

"Dammit, why isn't Kakuzu joining," Naruto muttered. He could sense the man standing close by, having their two targets with him. Yukimaru seemed to be struggling pointlessly, and the Hozuki boy was still encased in crystal. "Guren, fall back."

"What?!"

"You heard me. You're out of chakra. Fall back."

"But-"

"Shut up," he cut her off. "I can't keep fighting while having to protect you at the same time."

"I can look after myself," she glared, offended by what he had said.

"Yeah, and so can I. And yet you covered for me while I was out," Naruto retorted. "Go. I still have to try something else."

"Why?"

"There's no time for this," Naruto growled. "Go! And if you meet that old scumbag of a partner of mine, tell him to get off his wrinkled old ass and help me out!"

The three-tailed demon howled, spurring open the protecting protrusions around its face just wide enough to start gathering some sort of dense sphere of chakra. Just wide enough for Naruto to thrust a piece of wood into the creature's eye, disrupting Yagura's concentration. The explosion that followed when the purple-black orb of chakra destabilized shook the ground underneath Naruto's feet.

"Damn," the blond mumbled to himself. He was glad that Guren had finally listened to him. He wasn't sure why Kakuzu was not helping. Naruto figured this was just another test, another method to make him push beyond his limits. ' _Well, I already did that. That burning sensation at my forehead only gives me a headache now. Fuck it all, if this continues for much longer, I'll run out of chakra. And it doesn't seem like Yagura is even weakening in the slightest.'_

As if to prove that fact, the Sanbi easily broke the wooden restraints which Naruto had grown around the creature. Binding a being that was so much stronger seemed impossible. Poisoning would be difficult as well. Naruto knew that the pollen his jutsu could spread was potent enough, but taking down a creature such as the Sanbi seemed to require something more. More powerful. Brute force to halt brute force.

One of the three tails came crashing down, as if Yagura wanted to swat his opponent like a fly on the wall. ' _At least the Sanbi isn't as fast as that red-chakra form he had earlier,'_ Naruto thought while dodging. ' _Dammit. I wish I had some way to create the gigantic structures which Madara's texts spoke of. Hashirama was able to create wooden dragons and a titanic statue which Madara stated to dwarf even the Kyuubi. I guess I'll need to double my efforts. If I survive this day…'_

A large mass of water tore through the surface of the island. The Sanbi wasn't playing around. At this rate, the small island would end up being nothing of ruin of what it was before this day. Apparently Madara wasn't wrong when he wrote about battles that could reshape the face of the earth. With the power of a bijuu, that was definitely a possible outcome.

"Dammit. His face is guarded. His entire body clad in armor. What… oh, wait, below!" Naruto realized. "Do or die. I hope I'm right."

* * *

"Girl," Kakuzu grunted as a greeting. He was still severely annoyed that he hadn't killed Terumi Mei. But Zetsu's plan seemed right. Mei was the strongest, a fact which she had proven by putting up a fight which had cost Kakuzu a heart. If she became Mizukage, she'd know what kind of threat Akatsuki was. A threat that Kirigakure would not be able to face. Besides, vexing as it was, Zetsu was right about the fact that killing Mei served no point other than personal satisfaction. She wasn't worth a single ryo. It was Yagura who issued the bounty, and with him gone the current government of Kiri was essentially doomed.

"He needs help," Guren urged, mostly ignoring Yukimaru, who jumped at her with a teary faced embrace. Absentmindedly she patted the boy on his head. "Kunomori-san won't be able to last much longer if this keeps up," she explained. Naruto had not really made a secret of how he needed Kakuzu to help him out.

"Hm. He's cutting himself short."

"What?! Can't you see what he is fighting against?"

"Yagura only has three tails. The brat should still have the upper hand," Kakuzu grunted. Not that Guren knew that Naruto had the Kyuubi sealed within him. Not even Naruto knew. While neither Kakuzu nor Zetsu knew this, it had been during Naruto's merger with Tobi that the Kyuubi had somehow made sure to bar the doors to his power. Perhaps it had sensed that Naruto would get the mokuton kekkei genkai. Perhaps it realized who and what Zetsu was, and where he and Tobi originated from... If anyone would be able to recognize the tissue of the Gedo Mazo, it would be one the nine bijuu.

As if on his cue, the Sanbi was lifted from the ground. Roots combined and formed a sharply-pointed tree, one which was thicker than any other than Guren had seen.

"Good, it seems like he is starting to approach Hashirama's level of skill," Kakuzu muttered. "But it still isn't enough to kill me, brat."

* * *

Panting and sweating, Naruto saw how the Sanbi was toppled over. Its belly was now sporting a deep wound, blood flowing out like and drenching the ground. The creature howled in agony and rage. Especially rage.

'… _I think I just pissed it off,_ ' Naruto felt a large drop of sweat run down the back of his head. The ripple-patterned left eye of the demon now glared at the tiny human. "Eh… hi?" Naruto tried awkwardly.

A gust of water threw him back, making him skipping over the ground. Skidding against one of his trees, Naruto came to a stop. His entire body hurt. Several gashes 'decorated' his body, and his chakra reserves had taken quite a hit.

"You're still weak, brat."

"So you finally decided to stop lazing about, Kakuzu?"

"The whiter half of Zetsu has a bad influence on you," Kakuzu grunted, not really appreciating how the boy talked to him. "And you're the one of the ground. Not me."

"Always wanting to be the one who's right," Naruto sighed. "Fine. How are we going to bring this bastard down?"

Naruto had only rarely seen what Kakuzu looked like without his Akatsuki robe. The stitched-together body, the threads, the masks, it was rather inhuman but Naruto knew that it made Kakuzu powerful.

"While you were failing to turn this overgrown sea turtle into soup, I was amassing chakra," was all that the older man said. The two masks on his shoulders opened their mouths, as did Kakuzu himself. A devastating attack, combining wind, fire, and lightning, hit Yagura. The sheer force of the explosion brought the already weakened Naruto down to his knees.

"Dammit, a little warning would've been nice."

"Stop your whining."

Naruto just glared back, but decided to do what Kakuzu had done before. Gathering chakra. First, he needed to mend the damaged parts of his body. He had already closed the slash at his flesh-and-blood arm, but the remainder of his body also needed attention.

True to his word, Kakuzu had indeed gathered a lot of chakra. Two similar combination attacks followed after the first. With the wound which Naruto had caused already limiting Yagura's mobility, his three-tailed form took some significant blows. Not that Kakuzu managed to pierce the thick shell that protected the beast, but it did begin to cost the Mizukage a lot a chakra. Maintaining this 'perfect' form was already taxing, but enduring such attacks only reduced his reserves further.

Meanwhile, Naruto tried to reach out the world around him, but failed. Instead of gaining more chakra, the burning sensation from his forehead vanished. This 'unbiased eye', which he had somehow found in the depths of natural energy surrounding him, was gone. It only left him weaker, feeling utterly exhausted. The battle between Kakuzu and the Sanbi slowly moved away from his position, when Naruto suddenly heard someone next to him. To his surprise, Guren had come down to meet him, a worried frown running over her face. The little boy, Yukimaru, jumped from her back, although still clinging to her arm.

"Are you injured?"

"Just tired," Naruto wondered why she even approached him. They weren't even truly allies, last he checked. She was a servant of Orochimaru, who in turn served the same organization as Naruto did. Although little was left of his cloak to show his affiliation with Akatsuki, right now. "Guren, you should get out of here. Orochimaru wants that brat and the Hozuki, to use them in his fucked-up experiments. It is your duty to ensure that they get back to Otogakure."

Guren gulped at the way he described her master's intentions, but couldn't refute them. She had seen too many 'creations'. Too many experiments with the cursed seals. She knew that whatever happened to the Hozuki would be nasty. She couldn't really care about that. She did realize she cared about Yukimaru's fate, however. The sight of the dying woman was still imprinted in her memories, the woman who had saved her life, the woman she had killed… Yukimaru's mother. Her first real kill.

Perhaps it had been this weakness that made Orochimaru decide to pick another vessel instead of her. But it was also a trait that confused Naruto. Why would anyone care about another? In the two years since he had woken up, the only years which he could recollect, Naruto had never really taken an interest in people who cared about others. Who'd go out of their way to protect him. It was something foreign to him. An oddly happy emotion.

This was what he thought as he felt the Bijuudama approach. Intertwined trees formed a wall, and multiple walls created a true defense, as solid as Naruto could make it in his worn out condition. "Run!"

Guren did not run. She stepped in front of Naruto. Her arms stretched out after going through a flurry of nine hand seals. "Shoton: Suishoheki Hachi no Jin (Crystal Release: Jade Crystal Wall Eighth Formation)." The closest wall of wood was reinforced by her crystal release, hardening it to a level where Yagura's Bijuudama was blocked.

Blocked, but not deflected.

The mass of chakra that was fired at them exploded, engulfing the area. The last which Naruto saw before his senses were blinded was Guren. Guren, who created one last barrier of crystal, in a last ditch effort to keep them alive, to keep Yukimaru and him safe from the explosion.

' _Why?'_

* * *

He hated to admit it, but Kakuzu knew that this wasn't really looking in his favor. His chakra reserves were slinking fast, and his attacks seemed to have little effect. To make matters worse, the unleashed bijuu launched an attack which went beyond his capacity to stop. He hoped that his partner would be able to dodge this. ' _Perhaps I should've helped out the brat rather than hoard chakra while he wore himself down. Then again, teamwork has never really been an issue we had to bother with. He was too weak… but this battle changed something in him. Kid's really grown up.'_

"Whether his mokuton kept the creature suppressed or not, the boy is still a jinchuriki," Kakuzu mumbled to himself. "He'll need more training."

Tiger. Ram. Rat. Kakuzu slammed his hands to the ground. "Doton: Sando no Jutsu! (Earth Release: Sandwich Technique)"

Two enormous rock formations rose from the ground on either side of the Sanbi. With a thunderous force the two boulders crashed into the beast. With the power that Kakuzu wielded, the rock formations were great enough to even dwarf a monster like the Sanbi. Even if the creature had more chakra, these boulders were superior in weight.

Kakuzu wasn't convinced that he could kill Yagura, but wearing Yagura down should be something this jutsu could achieve. From the previous jinchuriki which Kakuzu had fought, among which two of the former jinchuriki of the Nanabi, he knew that a jinchuriki could only maintain their transformations for a limited amount of time. ' _Those were mostly weaklings. Genin, or chunin. Perhaps lower ranked jonin at best. Yagura is on a wholly different level.'_

* * *

Coughing from all the dust which had been kicked up, Naruto regained his senses. He couldn't feel his left leg from the knee down, and when he looked why he noticed how a large shard of crystal had pierced the limb. The wooden walls had failed. The crystal wall had failed. But the barriers had done enough to ensure that Guren's last line of defense had worked. Heaving and panting, the blue-haired girl sat on her hands and knees, too exhausted to notice that Naruto had woken up.

The stench of smoke reached Naruto's nose. Small wonder. With all the wood and trees that had caught fire due to the explosion, smoke was to be expected. Struggling to get up, Naruto vaguely noted that the Hozuki boy had survived the ordeal as well, even though his prison had shattered. Suigetsu was an unconscious puddle, so there was no risk of escaping.

' _There are different priorities right now,'_ Naruto ignored the bounty. Kakuzu would be pissed at him for not caring about the money, but that was a risk Naruto was willing to take. "Oi, Guren…"

She ignored him. Still on her hands and knees, Naruto wondered why she didn't respond. He felt her chakra, even though her reserves had dwindled down to next to nothing, so she was alive.

"Hello! **So you did manage to survive.** Told you he would."

"Zetsu… a leg, please," Naruto grumbled. Living close to Kakuzu brought a recurring process of losing limbs. His own arm was strong, or perhaps it was because Kakuzu did not target it, but the three limbs which had been replaced by Tobi were quite fragile in comparison. Fortunately, Zetsu could replace the lost tissue, being made out of the same 'goo' as Tobi.

It always took some time before it got adjusted to his chakra, but it definitely was a better option than continuing without a leg.

" **Seems like even Kakuzu is pressured.** Good thing that Mei-chan decided to cut her losses and retreat. **She would not have aided Yagura, idiot.** But she didn't want Kiri to lose the Sanbi either." For once the whiter half managed to silence the blacker half. " **Whatever. The main point is that you should get out there and back up Kakuzu.** If he died it would be bad. **Kakuzu is useful to Akatsuki…** "

"Whatever," Naruto grunted while he carefully tried out his new leg. The adjustment went remarkably fast. Too fast, almost. Then again, Naruto had a weird feeling about his own chakra. His little outer body experience had given him the impression that he was incomplete. ' _Perhaps that is why my power is lagging behind that of Hashirama?'_

"When you're done sobbing, **could we have that?** We're quite hungry from all the travelling today."

For the first time Guren reacted. And Naruto realized why she had been so silent. She had the boy in her arms. His torso littered with crystal shards, blood running down from his mount and his nose. His eyes were closed, and Yukimaru had an oddly peaceful smile on his face.

"You leave him alone!" she snapped with such ferocity that Zetsu backed off.

"There are a few corpses in that direction," Naruto pointed. "This one is off-limits. Unless you want to be turned into crystal, of course. As is the one with the eye patch: we need his bounty."

"Hmpf. **Young flesh is more tender**. Less muscles and more healthful fats."

"Just do it," Naruto grunted. Zetsu shrugged, both the black and the white shoulder perfectly synchronized, and sank into the ground. "Guren…"

"He's dead… Yukimaru… he shielded me when…"

It was an oddly foreign emotion which Naruto felt. Seeing the girl sob. Seeing the motionless body of the boy. The child had sacrificed himself for the sake of the girl he liked. Why? So many people were clinging onto their own lives, while others threw away their own for the sake of others. His connection opened him to the world, to the lives and deaths of all life around him. Why were humans so different in the complexity of their emotions? Animals could lay down their lives for the sake of their offspring or their partners, but not for…

Something big happened, by the sounds of it. As if a mountain collapsed, the sound drew him away from his thoughts.

"Stay here," Naruto grunted. He strode past her. Why did the boy die with a smile? Was Guren _that_ precious to the boy? He wanted to understand it. He wanted to know why people valued life so much, and the lives of others. Kakuzu and Zetsu had taught him the value of death, but what Guren and Yukimaru showed Naruto was something different. It felt similar to the Yamanaka woman, who had offered her body, so desperate that she tried to buy her survival through the act of sex. These emotions they displayed were… abnormal. To him, at least. Naruto had been shown many things, but a tree could not explain him how humans functioned. Why they did what they did. The animalistic survival and parenting instincts was one thing, but friendship?

' _What is the value of life?'_

Kakuzu held the creature at its place with the two gigantic boulders when Naruto's trees erupted from the ground, entangling the bijuu. Higher and higher, tighter and tighter the trees strangled Yagura. Naruto was practically running on fumes, giving him a moment of inspiration. He might not have chakra, but if he could someone gain strength form the energy outside his body, why not siphon Yagura's?

Thorns as thick as a human's arm grew from the trees that bound the Sanbi, piercing the relatively soft red flesh which wasn't shielded by its shell. For Yukimaru, for Guren, Naruto felt determined to make this work. Yagura _had_ to fall, or the sacrifices which they had made would be utterly pointless.

Kakuzu allowed himself a smile when he saw how Naruto began to suppress the Mizukage's power. It started slowly, but minute after minute it became more obvious that the Sanbi was shrinking. Until, with a billowing cloud of smoke, the Sanbi vanished.

* * *

"Good work, brat. The investment actually paid off," Kakuzu chuckled darkly. The compliment didn't really seem to reach the blue-eyed boy, though. His eyes held a glimmer of emotion which Kakuzu hadn't seen before. Well, not since the first time they had fought, at least. That time, when the brat was merely a genin of Konohagakure, he had desperately tried to protect his teammates, especially the girl with the pink hair.

That boy had failed his mission, being too weak, too naïve. But right now… _this_ Naruto was beginning to become a man who might eventually upset the balance of the world. Kakuzu loved those kinds of people. Any shift in power was always accompanied by a fresh wave of bounties, as those who lost power often ended up becoming Kakuzu's prey. If he kept growing at this rate, Naruto might actually become the strongest shinobi the world had seen since Hashirama. Perhaps even better, if Kakuzu took the Kyuubi into account.

A worthy adversary.

Exhausted, Naruto collapsed. The only things which were left to remember the outburst of power were the monumental trees that still stood strong. The might of the mokuton was vast. Even if this boy was yet unworthy of even standing in the shadow of a man like Hashirama, time would eventually change that.

' _Yes, those would definitely be interesting times. The war which Akatsuki promised would change the shape of all the nations. Just like how Hashirama ended the warring states era, this boy, in a few more years of training, would be capable of initiating the end of the era of the hidden villages.'_

"How the mighty have fallen," Kakuzu sneered when he finally reached the paralyzed form of the Mizukage.

"You… filthy rebel scum… the boy…"

"The boy beat you," Kakuzu chuckled. "His mokuton certainly is a useful gift, don't you agree?"

"No… other… my boy…"

" **He must mean the other child.** The dead one? **Yes.** He looked tasty. Too bad we couldn't eat him. **That woman would have been annoying if she fought us. And the child didn't have much flesh on his bones anyway.** "

"Dead?" Yagura's pink eyes went wide, and then went blank. "I see… my legacy… my death is… just… end of the… bloodline…"

"Hm?" Kakuzu wondered what now unconscious tiny Mizukage had said, when Zetsu realized the truth.

"Oooh, so that is it!? **Seems likely.** That explains the boy's chakra. **It was akin to that of the Sanbi for a reason** ," Black Zetsu grimaced slightly. " **Too bad he had died. The secrets that we could have unraveled from the offspring of a jinchuriki.** "

"So the brat was his bastard," Kakuzu smirked. "It makes sense. That was why the snake wanted him back after Kiri stole the boy. Research, my ass… the boy was bait. What a coward."

"Isn't it smart **to dispose of a stronger opponent that way?** "

"Only a fool places his trust in someone like him," Kakuzu glared at Zetsu. "Now, what is the plan? Where does Pein want this guy?"

" **Bring him to the nearest base.** That's going to be quite a long walk. He'd wake up! **We'll visit Orochimaru and Sasori. They were working on a poison that should keep a jinchuriki subdued.** Yagura has always been considered to be a troublesome one to catch. **This was an unexpected stroke of luck.** "

"We'll go to a nearby base of Oto first," Kakuzu decided. "That snake owes me my money for the Hozuki. Besides, travelling too close to Konoha isn't exactly what I want right now."

"Your money? **The money you gather is for the sake of Akatsuki.** And Naruto-kun helped too! **Actually, it was the girl who caught the Hozuki, nitwit.** Meany. **Moron.** Stinky!"

"Shut your damn mouth, you annoying vegetable," Kakuzu ignored the protests of both Zetsu, grabbed both unconscious jinchuriki, and threw them on one shoulder each. "When you visit Orochimaru and Sasori, get some military rations pills as well. The sooner the brat is back on his feet, the better. Actually, make sure taste one those pills yourself first. I don't want to end up getting poisoned by those two madmen. If this brat dies now, it would be a huge waste of all my time and effort."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Zetsu's spore technique which he used against Mei was the same one he also used in the manga, when Sasuke and Obito crashed the Kage Summit. I'm afraid I made White Zetsu somewhat OOC. Mostly because I felt like a bit more comedy should be added to the story. He's already carefree and playful, causing the semi-schizophrenic arguments between Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.

As for Naruto's growth in power… well, I somehow translated a debate between realism and modernistic views into the Narutoverse. That weird moment of inspiration offered a good way at explaining senjutsu, at how I envision Naruto to reach out to the natural energy around him.

Have you ever noticed how similar Yukimaru looked when compared to Yagura? With only the boy's mother known, and the mysterious connection he had to the Sanbi, I eventually got the idea for this 'bastard' plotline. That was why Yagura came out of Kiri, or why Mei imprisoned such a young boy. Fundamental to this assumption, of course, is that idea that Yagura is far older than he looks. Like most bijuu, the Sanbi also gave his jinchuriki unique traits (like sensing malice, spouting ink, controlling sand, matching hair colors, etc). Turtles age slowly and are a symbol for longevity, so I made the assumption that the Sanbi slowed down the age process of its jinchuriki, thus explaining Yagura's child-like appearance.

In case you saw a typo: my beta **Illuminated** is enjoying a well-deserved vacation with his family. Of course, I could have waited another few weeks before publishing this, but somehow I figured you'd rather see me upload this now. But if I did slip up somewhere, please notify me. Talking about **reviews** : I wonder why some expect me to write some kind of boring Mary Sue type of character who gets everything instantly. For instance: what would be the point of writing this story if he'd get his memories back right away? He has flaws and needs to overcome them. Ah well, perhaps I should've studied psychology instead of economics.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	5. An impediment

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Five**

 **An impediment**

* * *

" _O ye Gods, grant us what is good whether we pray for it or not, but keep evil from us even though we pray for it."_

― Plato

* * *

Contrary to the difficulty of catching them, sealing the bijuu was merely a long and tedious task. Filtering the chakra from the Sanbi out of Yagura's body required the usage of various seals, which had to be empowered during the entire process of the extraction. Using a large, but very well hidden, cave, all members of Akatsuki had gathered around an ominous and gigantic statue. It was a hideout much like many of the others which Naruto had seen during his travels with Kakuzu. But this statue was something he had never seen before. The Gedo Mazo, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, was the vessel in which all the bijuu would be sealed. From what Naruto gathered, Akatsuki would use this unnerving _thing_ as a means to wage a war unlike any before.

It would be the ultimate weapon. If people feared a single bijuu, then the combined might of all nine was simply… unfathomable. Especially after facing Yagura, who only held the Sanbi within him. The bits of information which Naruto had picked up seemed to indicate that the bijuu only got stronger relative to the number of tails they had. If the Three-tails posed such a threat, what impossible power would the Nine-tails possess?

Nine members of Akatsuki had gathered for the occasion. The first jinchuriki that they had caught. A fact that made Kisame complain that it was unfair that Kakuzu and 'Kunomori' had gotten an unfair advantage. But as Zetsu's information had pointed out, their Leader had explained that the capture of Yagura was a welcome chance. If the Mizukage had fallen during the rebellion, a civil war he was already losing, there would be an undetermined amount of time that they had to wait until the Sanbi reformed. So in spite of being ahead of schedule, Pein had agreed with the judgment of Zetsu and Kakuzu, and prior the sealing ritual he had even commended Naruto for his contribution to their cause. Well, Kunomori. He did not know Naruto's real name, after all.

After that discussion they had spent three days, three boring and long days, at sealing of the Sanbi. Days made even more boring by Hidan, with his ravings about murder and mayhem. Seventy two long hours, while Naruto actually longed for a good night's rest and some wholesome food. But instead of getting some rest, they had hurried to this shitty cave right after the battle with Yagura. He had barely gotten the chance to say farewell to Guren (why had that been so important to him? He couldn't say) before she returned to the base of Otogakure, carrying Suigetsu with her. Zetsu had brought the money which Orochimaru had promised, even including the amount which he had offered for Yukimaru, despite the boy's death.

That was the only thing for which they had taken the time. Yukimaru's burial. A grave of crystal and wood. A peaceful place for a boy too innocent for this unforgiving world.

The sad story of Yukimaru's mother, however, was not something Naruto expected to hear. Guren seemed to have an odd kind of reluctance to kill, even when it was her mission to do so. It was confusing him, the entire notion of mourning the dead. Though, Naruto figured he never had anyone he cared enough about to mourn if they should die. ' _Kakuzu might be one. I'd hate it if someone other than me killed that bastard.'_

"It is done," Pein finally announced. Within the cave, only Naruto, Kakuzu, and the two sides of Zetsu were there. The others were some kind of projection. Why the tenth member was absent was something Naruto hadn't figured out yet.

"Fucking finally," the shadowy projection of Hidan whined. "Three days of doing nothing… I want to kill something."

"As if you didn't tell us that already," Naruto grumbled.

"Hey, brat, if you got strong enough to catch Yagura you should be strong enough for a duel, don't you think?" Kisame, eager as always, challenged Naruto. "I promise it won't be a total fuckup of a match like you always have with that idiot tagalong of mine."

"Hey!"

"I'd rather get some sleep and food," Naruto didn't bother to hide his foul mood. "I'm starving."

"And we need to deliver our package to the bounty station," Kakuzu had sealed Ao away, not willing to let the body decay while they had to spend time on sealing the Sanbi.

"Kunomori will go to Amegakure," Pein cut off the discussion. "From the recordings which Zetsu showed me earlier, you still need training. You have potential, but you are young and inexperienced."

"…training?" Naruto blinked. "Damn, this is just another attempt from Kakuzu to get me killed, isn't it?"

"Kakuzu can continue with his bounty hunting. Bringing in money is crucial at this stage," Pein remained completely stoically as always, ignoring Naruto's whining. "But you, Kunomori, if you wish to achieve a level of skill that approaches that of the Shodai Hokage, you will need space to train without distractions. A place where no other nation can find you. Ame will offer that."

"As you command, Leader-sama," Naruto sighed in defeat. The six shadowy figures fluttered and disappeared. The massive statue, the Gedo Mazo, was reverse-summoned and vanished in a cloud of smoke. Naruto let himself fall backwards, too tired to keep standing. "Ugh, and more travelling…"

" **You should be cautious around Pein.** He sees everything. **Not everything, but with his rinnegan he does see a lot.** More than we'd like."

"Why is it so important for me to hide who I am?" Naruto grumbled. "This whole Kunomori-crap pisses me off. I keep forgetting it is supposed to be my name."

"Pein is rather vindictive," Kakuzu explained. "And he holds a grudge against Konoha."

"Which would imply that I originally hail from Konohagakure?" Naruto blinked. "Why am I… well, why did Zetsu use Tobi to save my life?"

"You were dying. **But you had an unusual chakra. We've rarely seen people with as much yang energy as you. That is why we made Tobi save you.** Although, when he did, something unusual happened."

"What?" Naruto wondered why Black Zetsu scowled like that, and White Zetsu suddenly had that sheepish smile. Seeing both expressions at once was rather peculiar.

" **Big mouth.** He deserves to understand the danger. **That he does. Fine. Tobi wasn't supposed to completely merge with you. Your chakra was stronger than we had anticipated.** So Tobi lost himself. **And you lost your memories.** "

"Which you undoubtedly found _very_ inconvenient," Naruto remarked, sarcasm almost tangibly radiating from him. "So bad that you had a perfect little tool which didn't even remember who he was…"

" **Very.** Not really. **Controlling Tobi would've been easier.** Oh, yes, that's true."

"At least you don't lie about it," Naruto laughed mirthlessly. "So why tell me?"

" **Because the ability you gained through Tobi, your mokuton, is valuable.** And we don't want Pein to kill you. **It would mean the destruction of the entire investment we made.** "

"Seems like even our great leader isn't aware of what his minions do… and you being his spy probably also implies that you control the information he gets," Naruto noted. "Smart. I knew you were manipulative, but never expected it to be this bad."

" **We do what we need to do.** Pein is difficult. **He has a strong will, making it hard to convince him.** The old guy didn't have any alternatives at the time, though. **Pein killed Ame's previous leader, Hanzo, not too long ago. He also murdered the man's parents, wife, and children. Plus all of his friends. Like said: he really knows how to hold a grudge.** And he likes Konoha just as much as he liked Hanzo. **So you'd better watch your step.** "

"Whatever. I'm not eager to die," Naruto yawned and got up. "Let's go, Kakuzu. I'll put up a house outside. Growing it in this place doesn't really feel right. Too much tainted chakra. That statue wasn't natural."

"Fine," Kakuzu wouldn't admit it, but he could use some rest as well. Zetsu waved goodbye (the whiter half, at least) and sank into the ground. Naruto swaggered out of the cave, following Kakuzu who had the same pace as always. Judging by how exhausted he felt, Naruto figured he would be able to get a proper rest for the first time in weeks.

"I wonder what Yagura's body will fetch," Kakuzu mumbled to himself, causing Naruto to chuckle. "Hm. Well, with you gone for a time, I have to get some extra ryo."

"Yeah, sucks to be you. You won't even have someone to do all the work for you now. Imagine how your monthly revenue will drop without the bounties I caught for you."

"I trained you in return for the bounties you brought in."

"You mean you tried to kill me," Naruto retorted. He put his hands on the ground after having gone through a sequence of hand seals. Being far enough from the cave, Naruto created a two-room building, with little more than the beds they needed to sleep on. Naruto couldn't be bothered with other details.

"Except that I didn't kill you," Kakuzu seemed somewhat amused by the irony of Naruto's line of reasoning. "Unlike everyone else I've worked with up till now."

"Why?"

"You're interesting, brat. It has been a long while since anyone like you existed. Even that little girlfriend of yours noticed."

"Guren isn't-" the blond was cut off by the sound of Kakuzu closing the door of his bedroom. ' _He thinks I'm interesting? Is he actually pulling a joke? Perhaps Yagura hit him harder than I expected… Oh well, I'm going to crash. Who cares what he thinks about Guren. As long as Kakuzu doesn't kill her, it'll be... wait, why am I suddenly thinking that her survival is important?'_

* * *

She had knocked first, but when there came no answer she carefully opened the door. "Tsunade-sama?"

"Shizune," the Senju acknowledged that she heard her assistant. The older woman sat in the window opening, staring out into the village. "What is wrong?"

"Team ten has returned from their mission."

"I see," Tsunade sighed. "Send them in."

Asuma, Choji, Shikamaru and lastly Ino entered the office. Ino was a bit startled by the strong smell of alcohol. Apparently the older blonde had gone through another few days in which she was 'remembering the past', as Shizune called it. Melancholia and alcoholism didn't combine too well in Tsunade's case, as Ino had discovered shortly after Naruto's death. Tsunade was a fearsome kunoichi, but sadly less strong as a woman. Though after all the people Tsunade had lost, Ino couldn't blame her. Just when the old Senju had finally found something, someone, to believe in, she once again lost that person. Fate was cruel that way.

"Ino. Asuma. Report."

"Would it be that troublesome to note that we're here too?" Shikamaru grumbled. "We failed to locate the mokuton user Kunomori, although we did find further evidence that he's real."

"The village where we went had several houses that were constructed by someone with the mokuton kekkei genkai," Asuma explained in further detail. Shikamaru had a bad habit of skipping past the details, apparently being too lazy to discuss the little things, rather leaving those to others. "Each building was constructed of one tree, and the wood contained faint traces of chakra. Too weak to properly take samples for analysis, though."

"Like I said: Mokuton," Shikamaru sighed.

"And the villagers? What did they see?"

"There was one man with a black robe, upon which were red clouds," Ino reported what she had seen in the memories of others. "The man was mostly masked, but his eyes were strange. Green irides, no pupils, and red sclerae. The other did not sport the same clouds on his robe, but was also mostly covered. This was the one who created the buildings with his wood release, and who was called Kunomori. He was about my age, had shoulder-length spiky blond hair, and blue eyes."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, almost in a grimace, and stared at Ino.

"His eyes were… the lacked the same radiance, Tsunade-sama, but it could… perhaps…"

"Ino," Asuma warned, shaking his head. "We've been over this before. It couldn't have been him."

"I know… but, I would like to be sure," Ino hesitated. "Tsunade-sama, can I ask for permission to track down Kunomori to ascertain his true identity?"

The Godaime Hokage walked away from the window and slumped down in her chair. Opening the drawer, she took out a nearly empty bottle of sake and downed what little that had remained in the bottle. With a deep sigh, almost more akin to a groan, she turned her eyes up and looked into Ino's turquoise eyes. Tsunade saw a glimmer of hope in those eyes, for the first time in years, replacing some of the pain which the girl tried to hide.

"Declined."

"But, T-Tsunade-sama-"

"I said no, Ino," Tsunade frowned. "Listen… things have changed," she sighed, momentarily allowing herself to look as exhausted as she felt. "Jiraiya sent a report. The Mizukage has fallen in battle."

"The rebels actually managed to conquer Kirigakure?" Asuma wondered why this news was brought with such an expression. This was good news for Konoha, as the rebels were less opposed to outsiders as the paranoid Yondaime Mizukage had been.

"No. It was Akatsuki," Shikamaru had connected the dots. "Kunomori."

"Yes. Two men, wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them, were seen battling Yagura. The leader of the rebel forces was somehow involved in the incident, but she got away. She claimed that she had fought against Kakuzu, a missing-nin from Takigakure who was presumed to have died decades ago, and Kunomori."

"S-so Kunomori is…"

"Is part of Akatsuki, yes," Tsunade finished the sentence for Ino. "Jiraiya seems to think that Akatsuki is targeting the jinchuriki for some reason, so if that blond boy was truly Naruto, he would never have entered an organization which wants him dead."

"It leaves no other option than Kunomori simply being someone who looks somewhat similar," Shikamaru only saw this as further evidence to a claim he had already made when Ino first spoke of the blond member of Akatsuki. "Besides, we all know Naruto… he would never have done the things which this Kunomori did. Nor would he have stayed away from Konoha for this long. I'm sorry, Ino, but it isn't him."

"Shika-" Ino wanted to protest, to scream, to scratch his eyes out for that cold analysis of his, until she saw the grimace on his face. He tried to remain calm and analytical, but his emotions… "I know. I'm sorry for being such an idiot."

"Ino, we know you didn't… you're not an idiot," Choji tried to, but couldn't find the right words.

"So Kunomori and this Kakuzu, they battled and won against both the leader of the Kiri rebels and the Mizukage himself? How immensely strong is that organization?" Asuma tried to steer the conversation in a different direction. The subject of Naruto was always something which hurt Tsunade a lot. Not to mention that it was still an open wound for Ino. He couldn't blame the girl for hoping for the impossible, tough. He didn't know how he would react if something happened to Kurenai…

"Yes. I'll soon issue a warning for all our forces about Akatsuki, but until then I expect you four to be silent about it, understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"As much as I'd want to… a chunin wouldn't stand a chance against an S-ranked shinobi like that Kunomori. Hell, even most of my jonin would lose. Yagura was supposedly someone who had mastered using his chakra, after all."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Choji wondered. "Of course someone would master-"

"He was jinchuriki, Choji," Asuma interrupted. "It is extremely difficult to deal with the chakra of a bijuu. Rumor has it that Kumo has a jinchuriki who also mastered it. It essentially grants the jinchuriki the complete power of the bijuu."

"That's… _troublesome_."

"Very," Tsunade nodded. "So you'll understand that we can't actively investigate someone who managed to defeat Yagura. Jiraiya will keep his eyes open. After all, Akatsuki has proven that is has become a very serious threat."

While she knew that the arguments were right, Ino felt bitter when she left the office. She wanted to hurry home, seek the solitude of her room, and let her emotions run free. She bit her lip at the very thought of it, but managed to control herself. Not now. Only when no one saw her. Not even her parents. They had worried enough about her, Ino thought. Not to mention that Naruto's death had affected them too, considering how Naruto essentially lived next-door, and had lived with the family for the first ten years – until he stubbornly declared that he was big enough to live on independently, like a grown up. Ino felt, in spite of it all, a smile on her face when she thought about how her mother had secretly provided him with food after his first attempts at cooking had failed miserably.

* * *

"Village hidden by rain. No shit," Naruto grumbled, making splash with each step. It was pouring, and the entire region seemed to be filled with either water of mud. A dreary and depressing country, Naruto concluded, drenched in water and sorrow. Still, there were some plants. Not much, but in his current state he felt it all. Ever since the battle against Yagura he had noticed how much sharper his senses had become when it came to the flora around him.

' _I'd rather figure out why and how I got that extra chakra, though. That burning sensation on the forehead aside, it was pretty pleasant to feel how the energy of nature can be my energy.'_

With long strides Naruto followed the path. Lakes were everywhere, leaving little room for normal people to travel over. Bridges connected the muddy areas which rose above the water level. Naruto had passed through an abandoned village before. Or what had been the remains of the village. War had torn through this nation, and had left deep wounds. The only thing that did not seem to come in a shortage was cemeteries.

It was odd to travel alone. Zetsu had popped up a few times during these past two days, until he got too close to Amegakure, but without Kakuzu grumbling about something it was rather quiet. Naruto almost felt free. Almost. It annoyed him that he had been left with no choice but to enter another dangerous area. Pein, the leader of Akatsuki, also governed Amegakure. And if what Zetsu said was true, or even partially true, then Naruto had to watch his steps. Whatever Konoha had done to the man, Pein was said to hold a serious grudge against the village and its population. Even though Naruto didn't even remember living in Konoha.

' _Perhaps I should've just turned against Zetsu, and gone to Konoha instead? Not that it would really solve anything… I can barely hope to defeat people like Kakuzu, and Kisame is probably an even more annoying opponent. Not to mention the guy who keeps all those monsters on a leash. Defecting from Akatsuki would be a stupid decision. It would only put Konoha in danger. Besides, whether I go there or not, I can't even remember living there, so what does it matter to me? Hell, for all I know Konoha might just as well treat me like a traitor.'_

A nagging voice in the back of his head wondered whether he had bonds during his old life, like Guren and Yukimaru had. Somehow he envied the girl, because he lacked those bonds. On the other hand, it worried him when he saw how much pain losing those precious people could cause. Yukimaru's death had left the girl devastated. She had gone back to serve Orochimaru, but seemed to lack the same devotion which Naruto had seen when they had first met. The fire within her was extinguished, leaving only a shell of her old personality.

It was an odd concept for Naruto, to feel worried about someone. Kakuzu had pestered him with it, and (White) Zetsu had quickly copied that, but Naruto lacked a proper understanding of what it meant to be friends, let alone what it meant to go 'beyond' friendship.

Quickly losing interest in teasing someone who didn't understand, White Zetsu instead brought more books. Romance seemed pleasant enough in those books, proving that White Zetsu for once was actually helpful rather than annoying, but it seemed to Naruto like he was completely different from the people who were in those books. Especially those Icha Icha books. Zetsu said that those were the most interesting, but Naruto felt more confused by them than anything else.

He couldn't imagine himself to be close enough to anyone to do those sorts of things. Then again, he lacked anyone who he would call a friend. In fact, Guren was the first person of his own age whom he had formed a bond with, no matter how fragile the bond was. She had saved him, he had saved her, and they held a certain respect for each other's strength. That was about it. But sad as it was, that was the closest thing he had to a friend. She at least didn't see him as a tool, like Zetsu and Kakuzu did. But unlike the stories from the books, Naruto knew _nothing_ about Guren. Nor could he say he felt any of the arousal which those books described. So that pretty much ruled her out.

Fording trough a shallow river, the bridge had been broken, Naruto felt rather annoyed that he was told to minimize the usage of his chakra. Crossing the water by simply walking over it would've been much easier. But he wasn't willing to ignore Kakuzu's advice either. The man may be a sadistic asshole, but he did have an enormous amount of experience. Naruto had been beaten often enough to know that Kakuzu knew what he was doing as a shinobi. The man always seemed to know his next move.

An hour later Naruto finally reached a path which seemed to be used more often. The rain only seemed to pour down harder and harder while he moved closer to Ame. Until he got close enough to see tall buildings in the distance. Very tall, actually. Amegakure looked completely different from any city or village which Naruto had seen before.

A little while later Naruto reached some sort of gate. Behind the gate was a bridge that led to Ame, and Naruto figured the village was surrounded by water. This would be the only way for civilians to enter. The two men standing at the gate also seemed accustomed to scaring civilians.

"Halt, who goes there?"

"Cheesy," Naruto sighed. "Too cheesy."

"What?"

"Can't you at least be a little less of a cliché?"

"Get lost brat," the other growled. Both men were slightly taller than Naruto, sporting dark and dark-grey colored clothes, and the only thing which somewhat drew Naruto's interest were their straw hats.

"Nice hats," Naruto smiled, although he knew neither man could see this through the mask that the low half of his face. "Sure would offer a good way to keep my head dry."

"Go buy one somewhere else, brat."

"Yeah."

"Nope. It would appear that I have to go to Ame, so please let me through."

"No one is to enter the village without the permission of Kami-sama or Tenshi-sama (Angel-sama). But you're a lousy infiltrator if you-"

"Dunno who they are, and I don't give a damn either. Now, get out of my way, you're starting to annoy me."

"Cocky little brat," the guard on Naruto's left took out an umbrella, apparently wanting to attack Naruto with the thing. Not that he got the chance. Vines erupted from the muddy soil, effortlessly breaking through the bricks, and enveloped the two not-too-intelligent guards.

"An umbrella would do nicely too," Naruto shrugged, walking forward to take the item from the bound man. "Hm. I guess I shouldn't kill you. I would make a bad first impression on Pein if I did that, I suppose."

The rain slowed, and Naruto noticed several sheets of paper. The shelter near the gate, used by the guards whenever there wasn't anyone approaching, also sported a small origami figure of an angel.

"Ah, so you're 'Tenshi-sama', Konan," Naruto chuckled. "Well, you have the looks for it, I'll give you that." The paper fluttered in front of him, and led forward. "Okay, I'll follow."

* * *

Konan was waiting, silent as usual, within Amegakure. She led him into one of the tallest buildings at the western side of the village. Many stairs later, Naruto stood in front of the man known as Pein. The man radiated a chakra which seemed to be equal to that of a jinchuriki, making Naruto guarded. But what unnerved him most about the man were his eyes. The light purple sclerae and irides with a ripple-pattern that spread over the eyeball. Aside from the eyes, Pein looked relatively normal. The piercings were a bit odd, but not too unusual. The spiky orange hair was kinda cool, in Naruto's opinion. For some reason he really liked the color.

"So, you are Kunomori," Pein, or at least his Deva Path, said.

"And you're no stand-up comedian."

"…"

"It worked on Kisame," Naruto shrugged.

"I am Pein," Pein said, as if that explained it all.

"It would appear this one victory has made the boy overconfident," Konan spoke for the first time.

"Yeah, getting my butt kicked and having to be rescued at least twice definitely made me _very_ overconfident. Hell no. I need training. Last battle I found some kind of shoddy way to increase power, and I want figure out how I did it. Besides, my control over my kekkei genkai is still subpar," Naruto was somewhat sarcastic, but spoke honestly. "I've been walking through this depressing rain for half a day, and you blame me for trying to make a joke?"

"Zetsu has a bad influence on you," Pein eventually sighed. "But that is not the point. Zetsu showed me the recordings of the battle, so I know what happened during the battle against Yagura."

"He… he can do that?" Naruto blinked. "That son of a bit… acorn! That would've made things so much easier. Listening to them talking is freaking annoying, so if they had a way to record and show events."

"Zetsu has a habit of fooling people," Pein groused. Naruto felt his heart skip a beat, thinking that Pein had figured out that he was from Konoha. But fortunately, nothing followed. "During the battle, you lost control of yourself. Why?"

"W-why? Errr, that's kinda hard to explain," Naruto scratched the edge of his face-mask. The drying fabric was rather itchy.

"Try us," Konan wasn't exactly what Naruto would describe as a cheerful person. In fact, as much as he despised Hidan, the immortal idiot was easier to have around than the stoic and cold woman. Naruto just couldn't gauge her personality. It was almost as if she was already dead on the inside.

"Fine. Mokuton is a kekkei genkai which allows me to manipulate trees, but also pretty much all the other vegetation. But other than using them for battle I can _sense_ them. As if they're somehow connected to my body. Which makes this place rather annoying for me," the blond gestured around, to nothing in particular, as the industrialized surrounding and the high metal towers made it nearly impossible for him to sense the nature around him. "Anyway, everything is driven by energy. All living beings somehow contain _some_ chakra, even when they aren't born with the ability to manipulate chakra. But whether its humans, animals, or plants, all things contain a certain energy."

Pein nodded. His rinnegan had already shown him this to some degree, although he was aware that 'normal' shinobi were blind to this.

"Through my connection to nature, I'm rather susceptible to being controlled by it, rather than being the one who controls."

"Controlled by nature?" Konan frowned. Naruto almost remarked on the fact that she was capable of facial expressions, but considering whom he was dealing with it seemed foolish to say. "How can nature control you?"

"I'd say that the energy that permeates throughout nature has a will of its own. I can't say that I understand. Nor have I had a chance to reach out to it, like I did during the battle against Yagura. I suppose that during the fight I was pressured to the point that I tried to use energy that wasn't my own, subconsciously tapping into the natural energy that is everywhere. It felt like I tapped into the energy of _all_ of nature. I mean, a tree doesn't really make distinctions like we do. To nature life and death aren't beginnings or endings. The fundamental rules are completely different, making it hard to understand from our human point of view."

"Is that why you got that symbol on your head."

Naruto wondered how Pein managed to not make that sound like a question. "Symbol?"

"In Zetsu's recordings we saw how you had a red dot on your forehead, with a red circle around it," Konan clarified.

"I had?" Naruto blinked. "I suppose that was due to that burning sensation. Explains why Guren was looking at me like that," he mused.

"So this natural energy, how do you use it?"

"Beats me," Naruto blurted out. "Well, I know roughly what it was, and what happened, but I just… it is hard to understand. And even harder to repeat. It is due to my kekkei genkai that I could do it once, but repeating it... well, that's why I agreed that I need more training. I mean, I know how to regain control now, but how to tap into that energy… it is a source of power that is simply too enormous to control or understand. I had to find a way to somehow accept that I couldn't control it, so that I could retain my sanity. If that even makes any sense."

"It doesn't," Pein said monotonously. "That is why you will train. Here in Amegakure you can train without interruptions. Your abilities will become important in our pursuit of capturing all the jinchuriki."

"Right… any chance I get to learn why Akatsuki is doing it?"

Konan looked at Pein, who seemed to be wondering whether to tell Naruto or not. Naruto could barely read the man's expressions, but Konan had known Pein far longer than he had.

"Too many people have died on these grounds," Pein referred to Amegakure. "Their pain was what caused me to grow up. Even an ignorant and foolish child can grow up into a man once he knows pain. One's words and one's thoughts will change accordingly. Within that endless life of pain, I continued to grow and ceased to be a man. Yes… the man… became a god."

"…a god," Naruto said, unsure whether or not he finally found someone who surpassed Hidan in terms of lunacy.

"Things that I could not see when I was still a man are clear to me as a god. And since I am a god, I can do things that would be impossible for any human. To put it simply, this is evolution."

"I suppose that you want to use the bijuu to inflict so much pain to everyone that more people 'evolve'?"

"No. I shall put an end to this pitiful world where men do nothing but fight. I will bring justice. That is the duty of a god," Pein's ripple-patterned eyes stared at Naruto. The man was completely serious, deadly calm, and there was not a single sign that he was mentally unbalanced. Other than the fact that he called himself a god, of course. "I intend to use the bijuu to create a new jutsu, one so powerful that it will lay waste to an entire country in one blow. It will be a weapon of unprecedented power and magnitude."

"Killing everyone would be a solution, I suppose," Naruto frowned. "I have to admit that it doesn't make me all too happy about working for you, though."

"Many people shall die… and then the surviving masses shall live in terror. People, countries, the world… they shall all know pain! Their fear shall act as a deterrent, and the conflict will end. One might say that this is the path to stability, and that the world is 'growing up'. Pain will force the world to mature the same way it forced me," Pein narrowed his eyes. "The hand of god is necessary to guide the world, to set it on the path to maturity. I am a god who believes in the principle of peace, but this world is still a child."

"So you're telling someone who has spent years as a bounty hunter about your plan?" Naruto felt some disbelief. Was this man truly trying to bring peace to the world? "Kakuzu spoke of a great war. I guess he wasn't too far from the point. If the war escalates to such a level that everyone begins to hate it… perhaps there can be peace. But I doubt it'll make people abandon their grudges."

"Mankind can hate all it wants, as long as it doesn't act," Pein seemed to understand Naruto's jab.

"But why Akatsuki? If you're a god, like you claim, why not do it all yourself?"

"Amegakure needs to be protected from the larger nations that have waged their wars on our ground. Akatsuki speeds up the realization of our goals. Especially with regard to the sealing process, which would take far longer if not for the other members."

' _So his power isn't limitless. Good. For a moment I wondered if he truly was a god.'_ Naruto looked at Konan, whose impassive posture didn't indicate one opinion or the other, and then looked at Pein. "I can't say I understand humans. I see nature for what it is. If anything, I'd say than mankind is disconnected from the laws of nature. The old send the young to die, rather than foster the next generation like any responsible animal would do. A fox would only eat as much as it needs, yet men hoard wealth and power, leaving the majority of their kind impoverished. Your plan may end war, but will it change the world?"

"People can never understand each other. The world of shinobi is governed by hatred. A chain of hatred, as one act of hatred causes the next. That is history. How would you face this hatred in order to build peace?"

"…"

"I created Akatsuki in order to break that chain of hatred. The fear of pain will put an end to war, it will lead the world to stability and peace. In peace, mankind may change its habits. In peace, mankind may remove the inequality. For without strive one cannot exert power. Without power, one cannot hoard wealth."

Naruto frowned, but nodded. He couldn't find a single opening in Pein's line of reasoning. The world was a dark and dirty place. Perhaps plunging the world into such darkness that people would collectively seek refuge in the light was a valid path. "No sacrifice, no victory."

"Victory and defeat are irrelevant, what I want is peace."

' _Still… such a forced peace… it might last a generation. Or two. Perhaps even a bit longer. But eventually people will forget. And then the wars will begin anew,'_ Naruto pondered. "I see. I suppose peace is a better cause to commit to than war. Not that I can claim to know what either truly is. I'm too inexperienced. But I can't find a lie in your words. You aren't deceiving me, like all the others." Naruto began to smirk, because despite not lying, it was clear that Pein wasn't telling him everything. "But you still view me as a tool. God or no, I'll warn you that this tool has its thorns."

"Very well," Pein did not seem to care. "Konan, make sure Kunomori gets a room, as well as an attendant. We can't have him assault our guards every time he passes through Ame. Nor does he need to wander around needlessly."

Pein saw his only surviving childhood friend nod and lead the young mokuton user away.

' _Zetsu is playing a dangerous game. While it is very faint, I did see the chakra of a bijuu within the boy. Maybe that is why Black Zetsu reported that the boy might have absorbed some chakra of the Sanbi, rather than merely suppressing it. Unfortunately, that cannot be the case. Such chakra would not be hidden so deeply within the boy. It would not be sealed… but the boy seems unaware of this,'_ Pein turned around to look out over his village. His country. ' _I will have to be careful, and revisit all the information Zetsu has supplied. It is fortunate I do not solely rely on Zetsu for information anymore. And whatever plan Zetsu has for the boy, not even a mokuton user will be able to face the combined might of the six paths of pain.'_

* * *

Naruto yawned when he woke up, still feeling groggy. Sleeping in a real bed… it was something he hadn't done in quite some time. In fact, ever since Kakuzu figured out that Naruto could create buildings, they hadn't wasted a single ryo on paying for sleeping accommodations. Cheapskate. When the blond wondered what caused him to wake up, he heard it again. Someone was knocking on the door.

"Dammit. Can't I ever just have a proper night of sleep?" the boy grumbled, dragging himself out of bed. He slouched to the door, opening it without bothering to hide his bad mood.

…only to look at a pair of wide-open light-green eyes, staring at him in shock.

"What?" Naruto grunted. The shocked silence from the girl in front of him pissed him off. Why wake someone up, only to refuse saying why?

"T-Tenshi-sama… ordered me to act as your guard and attendant."

"Guard?" Naruto chuckled. The girl was blushing slightly, but otherwise seemed rather serious. The slender girl had purple hair in an onion-like bun style, wore a light purple neck-collared kimono jacket with a brown orange sash around her waist and lavender pants, and her forehead protector was covered by her purple bangs. "I don't think I need a guard. What I need is sleep."

He wanted to close the door, but she stubbornly put out her hand to stop the door. "Tenshi-sama commanded me to take you to a training field."

"Great. You do that. After I get some darn sleep. And why in the name of Kakuzu's hairy armpits are you blushing like that, it's not like I'm… oh, right, I am. Damn. I forgot."

In Naruto's defense, it _was_ early. And it was also true that he had lost a set of clothes during the battle against Yagura, while his only set of spares was still sprawled out through the room in order to get it dry. Even his underpants had ended up getting soaked by the endless rain of Amegakure. Too groggy to think about it, Naruto had just barged to the door. With people like Zetsu or Kakuzu around, Naruto never really needed to bother. But this girl, apparently, had different opinions regarding decency.

"I will wait outside, Kunomori-san," the girl did have a lot of restraint, Naruto had to grant her that. Despite her blush and obvious discomfort, her voice now remained nearly emotionless. Nearly.

' _Is she trying to copy Konan? Did the ice-queen send her icy princess at me, to keep me on a tight leash? Perhaps I shouldn't have tried to lighten the mood yesterday. She probably hates my gut now, sending her strictest subordinate at me in order to bore me to death. Damn, and now I'm too wide awake to get back to sleep again. Might as well go with the princess.'_

Naruto grabbed his dark blue pants, the cover for his face, put on his sandals, and looked around for his teal-colored Akatsuki ring. After he had everything, he put on his (still not dry) Akatsuki cloak, and walked out of his room. The girl had been waiting for him, patient and dutiful, but Naruto felt somewhat amused when he saw a look of relief in her eyes. Him not being dressed seemed to have embarrassed the girl quite a bit, although Naruto wasn't sure what would be so strange about it. He wrote it off as another thing about human interaction which he had yet to understand.

When the girl got past her relief at his more decent state, she gasped and fell to her knees. "I apologize for my rudeness, Kunomori-sama."

"Eh? What the hell are you doing?"

"I was not aware that you were like Tenshi-sama and Kami-sama," she looked at the ground. "My actions bring shame to my-"

"Ugh, shut it," Naruto grumbled. "And cut it out with the 'sama' stuff. We're about the same age, right?"

The girl looked up, seemingly confused.

"Dammit, stand up straight," he barked. "We can't talk properly if you keep kneeling like that. What's your name anyway?"

"Ajisai, Kunomori-sama."

Naruto's brow twitched. "Just. Call. Me. Kunomori."

"I should not address you as such, it is unbefitting of my-"

"Do you need orders to stop saying it?" Naruto grumbled. "Just Kunomori, nothing more."

"As you command."

"I don't… didn't… yet… argh! Just treat me like I'm an equal. All this submissive shit is freaking me out," Naruto pulled his own hair. Waking up early and then this, the limits of his patience were quite low. "If Konan appointed you to look after me, do you know a place where I can get some spare clothes? One of those nifty straw hats would be nice, considering the crappy weather out here. Does it ever _not_ rain here?"

"I will show you our stockrooms," Ajisai inclined her head. "Do you want me to show you the way to the training grounds afterwards, Kunomori-sam… san?" She paused and corrected herself when she saw his glare.

"Just Kunomori will do, and yes to both. Oh, and Ajisai?"

"Yes?"

"It is me who should apologize. For my temper, I mean."

Ajisai didn't say a word, but the smallest of smiles crept around her lips. She led him down the tower, a building next to the building where he had met Pein. Naruto still wondered what his real name would be, as 'Pein' just seemed to be a rather silly sobriquet. The storerooms were rather big. It contained everything a genin, chunin, or jonin of Amegakure needed. At least, the basic equipment. Naruto didn't care about tools, him being able to create practically everything with his kekkei genkai, but spare clothes were quite useful. While not the same dark blue, he did pick black pants, and switched his open sandals for a pair of closed boots. With all the water and mud, sandals weren't really comfortable.

"I apologize, but we cannot supply those robes," the older woman in charge of the magazine had a bad habit of bowing deeply every time she spoke to Naruto. While she was easily in her fifties, she had treated him as a lord at the first sight of the red clouds on his Akatsuki robe. "We cannot sell the same clothes which Kami-sama and Tenshi-sama wear."

"It's fine. I'll take it up with Konan," Naruto grunted. "Let's go, Ajisai."

"Yes, Kunomori-sama."

"Ajisai…"

"My apologies."

"Tsk. You don't even mean that, do you?" Naruto stared blankly at the girl, whose slight smile made it obvious she was being cheeky. "Oh well," he picked up one of the straw hats from the rack next to him. He idly wondered why the company producing the hat would call itself 'Luffy'. "Let's go to the training grounds. You don't happen to have any of those with trees, do you?"

"We do," Ajisai blinked, a bit surprised at the request. "There are training grounds in which our shinobi can practice for the conditions they face in Hi no Kuni."

"Perfect," Naruto smirked. This girl obviously had no idea of his abilities. Her response could be amusing. She tried hard to remain stoic, and while there was something solemn and sad about her, but she was also human. Her responses weren't as emotionless as she seemed to want them to be. For one, the fanaticism whenever she spoke of 'Tenshi-sama', the girl seemed to worship Konan.

* * *

Days turned into weeks. Weeks blended seamlessly into the three months which had passed. During this entire time, Naruto had been training without pause, with Ajisai watching on in silence. While Naruto made progress, the time was less thrilling for Ajisai, who didn't really understand why Naruto spent so much time on meditation, nor could she really figure out his mokuton kekkei genkai.

She did spend a lot of time around him, on the other hand, as she was supposed to look after Naruto, on orders of Konan herself. A task which she executed with a nigh-religious conviction, which Naruto knew was due to how the girl idolized 'Tenshi-sama'. But occasionally she brought her teammates Fuyo or Suiren along, showing a more human side of herself which Naruto found more interesting than the stoic and solemn mask which she usually put up. But usually she was just dutifully taking care of his needs. Foods and beverages, clothes and other supplies, she usually brought it before Naruto even realized he needed something. It was an ability of her which creeped him out a little, as if she knew things about him before he did. On the other hand… having someone looking out for him like this was oddly pleasant.

The training ground where he trained wasn't particularly big, only one or two square miles. It was only a small forest of feeble trees amidst a dreary country of mud and ruins, but nonetheless it was the trees that Naruto valued over the industrialized village. To the point where he made a simple cabin for himself, elevated from the ground by two mighty trees. True to his expectations, Ajisai had not known a thing about his abilities. Naruto had laughed at her surprise, yet failed to notice that her admiration had grown ever since. The depressing weather took a toll on him. This is why he made the cabin. Naruto had been tired of having cold and wet feet, was fed up with all the mud, so if he lived somewhere he'd do it high and dry. That was one of the few things he could agree on with the Ame population.

Otherwise, Naruto didn't feel much love for the people of Ame. Short tempered and specialized in assassination missions, it hadn't taken too long for the guards that Naruto met upon entering the village to do something foolish. The two, along with a few of their friends, made a rather grave mistake by trying to attack Naruto while he was in the center of 'his' forest. Ajisai had tried to stop it, which was her duty as guard, but when they attempted to attack her Naruto had lost his temper. Unsurprisingly, Naruto ended up being summoned to Pein's tower as the man hadn't been pleased by the deaths of two of his underlings, although the man had been even less pleased with the aggressors. The surviving (but injured) men would be facing a punishment from 'god' himself.

Something which Naruto had found rather ironic, considering they pretty much acted out of revenge, just like Pein had killed Hanzo out of revenge. But Pein wasn't someone to be trifled with, so Naruto kept his mouth shut. Neither Pein nor Konan were any less depressing than the shitty weather anyway.

Meditating as usual, and overthinking what had happened in his life lately, Naruto was waiting for Ajisai to return. She formed pretty much his only contact to the human world right now, with some sparse glimpses of emotions. Ajisai had a tendency to hide her thoughts from him, buried under her devotion towards Konan, he presumed. Though, at times it almost seemed to him like she put him on the same pedestal as Pein and Konan, despite his insistence to treat him like a normal person.

' _But of course she never listens to me, stubborn girl.'_ She had offered to get something to eat, and Naruto didn't mind. He'd rather not leave the forest, feeling annoyed by the village itself. And she pretty much lived with him as well. ' _The people are as dreary as the country itself. A life filled with war, suffering, and sorrow… it seems like everyone has the same negative outlook on life. Pessimism reigns unchallenged, and all the hopes of the people are focused on their god and angel. Perhaps that is why Ajisai is so distant, because she hurting too.'_

A vengeful people, filled with anger against the nations that surrounded them. Too passionate. Naruto knew that he could get in trouble every time he crossed the village on his own, him being a foreigner. Usually Ajisai's presence prevented trouble. Because usually people wouldn't attack Ajisai. Usually.

Naruto scowled when he noticed how she rushed into the forest, chased by someone far stronger than the chunin-level kunoichi. She was fast and nimble above her rank, but lacked the chakra reserves to earn any promotions at this time. So, whoever was stupid enough to act against her, Ajisai would lose once the other caught up to her. ' _Guess I shouldn't go attacking people at random this time. I'd better go there and see what's going on. I can always decide to kill the moron if need be. Whether I attack from here or let the jonin get close, it doesn't matter anyway.'_

"Yo, Ajisai, what's going on," Naruto greeted with a smile.

"Kuno… mori… sam…a," she panted.

"After all this time, still the honorifics," Naruto shook his behatted head in mock disbelief. His longer blond hair always took so darn long to get dry from the rain, so he preferred wearing a hat. "So who is this moron?"

"This has nothing to do with you, foreigner," the Ame jonin snarked. "This is between me and Ajisai-chan, so get lost."

"He made a proposal. I refused," Ajisai admitted when Naruto looked at her. "He did not give up."

"So basically you're being harassed by this guy?"

Ajisai nodded.

"Nonsense! My offer is fair. In return for giving me a few sons, she will have all the wealth and prestige that my family will bring along."

Naruto looked at the man. He was in his early twenties, had short dark hair, and dark blue eyes. Sporting a set of umbrellas, Naruto figured that this was another one of those pesky needle specialists. Fuyo and Suiren, Ajisai's teammates, used the same trick. Getting turned into a pincushion once had been an incentive enough to create a wooden armor of his own.

"If I ever hear you're annoying her again, I'll tear off your balls," Naruto said coldly. "Now get lost. Count yourself lucky that Ame needs its jonin."

Predictably, the man reacted violently. They had too much pride and were always so easily taunted, even the jonin. The barrage of needles was something which Naruto didn't even bother to dodge. The raiton jutsu which he used as follow-up was something Naruto had not anticipated, though. Lightning release was very rare in this country. It was nothing which a simple Kawarimi no Jutsu couldn't solve, though. Plucking the needles from his wood-covered skin, Naruto turned to Ajisai.

"Seems like I can argue that I act in self-defense now, don't you agree? Although the attack is still too pathetic to really excuse a more violent response."

"Impressive," the jonin drawled, ignoring Naruto's jab. Obviously the man was not very skilled as a sensor, or he would have backed away by now. Then again, Naruto wasn't wearing his Akatsuki coat, so the jonin couldn't see who he was messing with either. "So you can even dodge that… what… what is that?"

Amassing chakra, Naruto went through the five seals which he had learned through Madara's scrolls. In these past months, Naruto had gained a better understanding of the nature that surrounded him. The strict control he had held over his jutsu before had been a mistake. Living things needed to have a consciousness of their own. That required him to give the jutsu space, rather than smother it with a tight control.

The wooden dragon which appeared at Naruto's feet definitely had an awareness of its own.

The creature had a short trunk-like nose, and its eyes glowed with a yellow light that frozen the jonin in his tracks. Its mouth opened, revealing long wooden teeth. Its snakelike body, as thick as the man was tall, was covered in hardened spikes, akin to scales. Faster than the jonin could react, the wooden creature ensnared the man, wrapping around the man's body just tight enough to hear the snapping of one or two bones, but not tight enough to kill the fool.

The man screamed like a little girl when the jaws of the dragon descended upon him.

"Kunomori-sama, don't do it!" Ajisai exclaimed.

"Calm down," Naruto sighed. "And when will you ever learn not to call me-"

"I apologize," she bowed before he even finished his sentence.

"You do that every time, and despite me telling you not to you keep treating me like I'm your superior," the blond shook his head, feeling actually disappointed, an emotion which confused him a little. "And no, I'm not killing this moron. I'm only testing whether this little dragon can sap his chakra. And if I'm not mistaken the dragon absorbs chakra with its mouth. Seriously, if I wanted to kill the man I would've made a larger dragon." Although Naruto wasn't willing to say that he probably couldn't make a larger dragon, considering how little wood there was to work with in this place. There still was that annoying limitation, that strange block he felt when trying to produce more wood. He could only expand it to a set amount before he reached his limits.

"Should I…"

"Konan is already on her way. Didn't you notice the strict surveillance in this forest? Your angel doesn't trust me more than she needs to," Naruto laughed a hollow laugh. "I'll leave it to you to report to her."

"T-thank you," Ajisai bowed. Naruto knew how honored the girl was to get another chance to speak with her great idol. Naruto rather returned to his 'home'. There he would at least not end up getting soaked by this damned rain. He was really starting to get fed up with the rain. Not long after Naruto resumed his meditation, seeking connection to the natural energy like he had done during the battle against Yagura, Ajisai returned.

"Tenshi-sama wasn't pleased with the jonin," she spoke up. "But she was pleased you did not kill him."

"Amegakure needs every shinobi it has."

"It does… but… he was within his right to… claim me," she muttered. When he looked up he saw her sad expression. "During the reign of Hanzo, his loyal jonin were expected to find powerful partners. The aim was to produce powerful offspring. I am of an age that I can give birth, and some say my skill has promise… according to the old laws he was within his right."

"Yet you refused, and returned here. Why?"

"Because I hoped that you would protect me. Even though it is within his right, I'd rather not be claimed by someone like him."

"Such faith," Naruto chuckled. "And yet you keep insulting me. From now on you'll call me Kunomori-kun, is that understood?"

"…are you claiming me?" she blinked. If she was told to use that suffix, it had to imply that-

"What? No, I want you to treat me like a friend," Naruto frowned. "I doubt you would want me to 'claim you'. It sounds like a rather barbaric practice, to be honest."

"…" she remained silent, fidgeting a little, obviously uncomfortable.

"You… you don't mean to say that…" Naruto looked at the girl, whose blush was starting to become rather obvious now. Even to the rather oblivious Naruto. "Ajisai, I'm barely… I'm probably the worst kind of guy you could find."

"You're not."

"I am. Listen, I don't even know who I am. It's nearly two and a half year ago that I almost died in a battle. Someone within the organization of Akatsuki saved my life, but I can't remember who I was. All I know is what I've learned since that day. And that's bounty hunting. I'm a murderer, Ajisai. Hardly the kind of good guy that you'd find in those books you like to peak in," he pointed at the bookshelves within the cabin. While she waited during his training she often read those books. "I can't be that sort of-"

"Why do you talk so badly about yourself? You're not!"

Naruto scowled slightly. How could he get her to understand that he was the sort of person she'd better stay away from? He was a tool, a piece within plans of various schemers. He couldn't drag her into that!

' _I can't… damn, what's wrong with me?'_ Naruto wondered. When had things changed this much? Was it Guren who had opened his eyes? Why did he suddenly care about this girl? Why had it angered him so much that she had been harassed by that idiotic jonin? And how on earth had her attitude towards him suddenly changed so much? "Ajisai, you should know that I barely know how to interact with other. I don't even know what it is to have a friend! I'm too-"

"You are strong, and yet you are kinder than any strong person I've ever met before you."

"Aji-" Naruto didn't get a chance to argue any longer. She pulled down the black mask that hid the lower half of his face, leaned on her toes to overcome the slight difference in length, and kissed him. Thanking him for saving her. Silencing his doubts. Shutting off even that warning sign in the back of his mind.

Not that his brains were actually still fully functional at this point.

* * *

"This feels wrong, Nagato."

"Konan?"

"That girl… we're using her."

"You merely advised her to accept her feelings," a pair of rinnegan eyes looked at the blue haired woman. Not the eyes of his paths, but his true eyes. This was not one of the six paths of Pein, but rather Nagato himself, the man behind the god. His body resting in a large mechanical walker, as Nagato was someone who looked surprisingly fragile and sickly. Ever since he had summoned the Gedo Mazo, ever since he had linked to the demonic statue, he had looked like this. The black receivers stuck in his back were a testament of it, as if someone stabbed a number of black metal bars in him. Regardless, this was a man who held the power over all six paths, who had an amount of chakra at his disposal which made him, by far, the most powerful shinobi alive.

"And yet it seems wrong to use her feelings as a means to tie him down."

Nagato frowned. Konan did not often voice any disagreement with his plans. "Is it because the girl is so devoted to you?"

"She is a young girl who is in love," Konan tried to hide it, but Nagato saw the slight scowl. She remembered her time with Yahiko, how she had loved him before they had been betrayed, that horrible day when Yahiko had died. "Using her emotions as a way to bind Kunomori-san to Ame is…"

"A necessary evil," he finished the sentence. "Ask yourself this, Konan. Why did Zetsu select that boy? Why was he so bent on making the boy strong? The mokuton is a very powerful kekkei genkai, even by _my_ standards."

"But to use her as a tool, as a spy…"

"Her loyalty to you does not have to conflict with her love to him, if he remains loyal to our cause," Nagato remarked. His red hair fell in front his right eye. "You appointed Ajisai because you had faith in her abilities and her loyalty. You remembered her because she was one of the few who passed the Chunin Exams in Sunagakure."

"True. But why her? You heard him. He knows he is being used as a tool, and he hates it," Konan countered. She didn't add it, knowing he would not appreciate it, but any plan that involved using the love of a teenage girl like that just seemed a lot like how Hanzo had caused Yahiko's death. After all, it was Konan's life that had been threatened, when Yahiko willingly threw himself onto Nagato's kunai. He had rather perished than let anything happen to his beloved. And now Nagato was setting up the same scenario for Kunomori and Ajisai? Had he become just like the man they despised?

"I highly doubt that the boy is easily manipulated," Nagato admitted. "It is why I told him the truth. He could be a powerful asset to our cause."

What he did not share with Konan, however, were his suspicions regarding who the boy truly was. There was only one jinchuriki who had gone missing, several years ago. A blond boy by the name of Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchuriki of the most powerful bijuu of them all, the Kyuubi. Nagato suspected that the chakra he could see within the boy, hidden so deeply and suppressed to such a degree that he doubted anyone without the rinnegan would ever notice it, was in fact that of the Kyuubi.

' _The Kyuubi needs to be sealed last. The Gedo Mazo would destabilize if it was sealed before the other eight. Keeping the jinchuriki close seems preferable. And if he returns the girl's affection, he would be easier to manipulate in case he would prove himself stronger than I expect him to become. Keeping her as an assurance against whatever Zetsu is scheming behind my back seems the most logical solution.'_

Nagato looked at Konan, who still held the smallest of frowns on her face. Yes, he couldn't tell her. If she knew that Kunomori was Naruto, then there was a chance the other would find out too. And losing him would be a greater threat to Nagato's plans. Especially now that Zetsu had shown to be untrustworthy.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

"THIEF," is something which Ino would scream. Alas, we can't really blame Naruto either, can we? He lost all memories about her thanks to Zetsu, that son of an acorn, with the exception of a dream that keeps haunting him.

To those who don't remember Ajisai: she's a character from Amegakure who is seen during the Chunin Exams in Suna, a filler arc from the anime. She's also the young woman who became Pein's second animal path, after Jiraiya destroyed the first animal path. She's not exactly the most popular character in fanfiction, but always picking the popular choice is boring too, right?

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	6. Union

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Six**

 **Union**

* * *

" _It's enough for me to be sure that you and I exist at this moment."_

― Gabriel García Márquez

* * *

"That tickles, Aji-chan."

"It would seem you aren't as invincible as I thought," the purple-haired girl smiled. Her light green eyes had a mischievous glimmer which Naruto had never expected to see in the solemn girl.

"I'm not invincible. Heck, if I hadn't been weak, I wouldn't even have been here," Naruto smiled. "So call me lucky for being weak," he turned towards the girl who was snuggling up to him. She had caught him by surprise with her first kiss, and since then had kept the momentum. He hadn't even gotten a good chance to think about what they were doing. Or perhaps it was the kisses and the close contact of the girl that blanked out his ability to think straight. Naruto didn't know. And he had to admit he didn't care either, he enjoyed this too much to want to second-guess it. Ame people truly were too passionate.

"You've never been weak, Kunimori-kun," she smiled. After she had kissed him, she had pretty much started living in his place, as far as he had not already done so. It wasn't like she had anyone waiting for her in her apartment anyway. Rather than be lonely, she preferred staying at his side, sleeping in the same bed, waking up in each other's arms, just like this morning. "I felt that the moment I first saw you. And during these past months, you've only grown stronger and stronger. You're like Kami-sama and Tenshi-sama, only… more like me."

"Well, an advantage of the wood release is that it forces me to keep being down-to-earth," Naruto joked, washing away the feeling of guilt he felt every time she uttered his fake name. "Besides… I'm too ignorant of the world to be anything like Konan and Pein. Or you, for that fact. You've got more wisdom in one of your fingers than I have in my entire scarred body."

"Flatterer."

"I'm not. Just stating the truth."

"I'd almost believe you," she kissed him on his cheek. "Almost."

"Cheeky as ever… that's my Aji-chan," Naruto chuckled.

"How did you get these?" her fingers traced the six scar-like marks on his face. They looked like whiskers, and she had quickly discovered that he was rather sensitive on those spots.

"When I woke up, I had them. Just like my arm and my legs. Well, I suppose I would've been dead if not for Zetsu."

"I hope I can meet Zetsu-san one day. I have to thank him."

"Please don't," he felt the joy sipping away. "Don't seek him out, Aji-chan. If people know about us… I don't want you to get in danger because of me. With my mokuton, it is pretty much a given that Konoha will come after me. And after taking down Yagura and taking their bijuu, Kirigakure won't be too pleased with me either. And… Zetsu uses me as a tool, Aji-chan. I'm sure that he'd put you in danger just to manipulate me. So avoid him whenever you can."

"You're so sweet," she buried her face in his chest. "But Kami-sama and Tenshi-sama will protect those loyal to them."

"Unless they want to use me for my bloodline too," Naruto sighed. Was that why she had so suddenly changed? Was she part of some ploy of Pein and Konan? Naruto didn't doubt her feelings to be genuine, but… that hesitation about what caused this, it held him back from sharing his real name. He trusted her, more than anyone, but not Pein, not Konan, and she admired them both. "Please be careful. I'm not thinking that you're weak, but…"

"I know. And it makes me happy to know that you're worried about me. You know, for someone who said he didn't even know what it was to have a friend, you're adapting quite well."

"One could say I have a good teacher, Ajisai-sensei."

She just put her arms around him, enjoying his presence. "I always thought I'd end up with some man I barely even know, who I'd have to sleep with out of duty, hoping for the odd chance that we'd even grow close before either of us died in our line of work. Love, happiness, those are things that barely exist in Ame. There's too much violence, too much sadness…"

Every time she spoke about the burdens which the people of her nation carried, she had that solemn expression. While she had become happier these past few days, that sadness hadn't really changed. "What happened?" he asked as gently as he could. She tensed up, pressing him even closer to her, and remained silent for a little while.

"It was night. My family lived to the east. A group of Suna shinobi raided our village," her voice became a whisper. "My father tried to help defend the village. He was just a genin, barely being trained. Hanzo didn't bother training those he didn't deem trustworthy. Only those living in Ame received training that gave them a chance to push to the rank and skill level of a chunin. As a result… it was only a small group, but our forces didn't stand a chance."

She paused for a while, and Naruto ruffled her purple hair, awkwardly trying to support her. He had read it in a book, but when he did it he felt rather stupid. How was a person who suffered pain to feel any better from such a gesture?

"I never knew my mother," she eventually continued. "Father said she died shortly after I was born. My older sister pretty much took the task of raising me while dad took all the jobs he could find in order to feed us. It was my sister who saved me that night… she pushed me down, into the small hiding place we had under the floor of father's bed. I was… eight, I think. My sister was fourteen. Old enough to be… she hid me, and made sure everything was back in place, so that I couldn't be found. She was barely done when they broke in. My sister… she screamed at first, tried to resist them. But eventually, she stopped screaming, and I only heard the men laugh, groaning while they had their pleasure with her…"

"That's… horrible."

"I was scared," he felt her tears, as she still had her face against his chest. "And I… I was relieved when they stopped… stopped doing _that_ to my sister. The death they granted her was more merciful than what they did up till then. I felt so guilty… I felt disgusted that I was happy her suffering ended, that I was happy she died…"

"It isn't… you couldn't-"

"Hanzo came. He killed them all," Ajisai whispered. "But he had little interest in those who survived, leaving us to our fate. It wasn't long after that, that a group of rebels passed our village. I joined them. Or better said, I followed them. I was too young to really join them as a kunoichi. But Tenshi-sama ordered the men to take me along, saying that orphans needed the aid of Akatsuki just as much as any other."

"So that is why you are so devoted to Konan," Naruto realized, as well as why she had been so oddly hesitant around him when they first met. It was only after time that she seemed to get used to his presence. What happened to her sister had irreversibly damaged her trust in men. "And after what you've been through, I can't blame you either. Small wonder you were so stoic and distant at first. After what those men did, you must have mistrusted… This must be the first time I actually think that losing my memories might be a good thing."

"I don't need you to have your memories to know that you are a good person," Ajisai's voice broke slightly, but kissed him on his neck. "I know that you're a good person now."

"But… I might be from Suna, or from Iwa, or even Konoha…"

He had felt her tense up, but she didn't falter. Raising her head, she looked into his eyes. "Even if you were from Suna, I'd still love you, Kunomori-kun. You are nothing like those monsters." She kissed him with a passion that even surpassed their very first kiss. Perhaps it were her emotions, her desperation, or perhaps it was simply that the dozens of kisses had given them both more experience. Practice made perfect.

Then again, he only wore his boxers while she wore the long shirt over her underwear that acted as her nightgown, covering her slender body. They were teenagers, inexperienced, but instinct pretty much told them everything they needed to know. Although now he knew why she backed off everything when his arousal became too obvious. Those memories had left her afraid of such forms of intimate contact. He couldn't blame her.

Thinking about it, Naruto wondered if he could be assigned to capture Suna's bijuu, to pay them back for what they did to Ajisai's family.

* * *

"Your target is north, not too far from here. **His skill doesn't seem to be relative to his bounty.** "

"Zetsu," Kakuzu grumbled. The old bounty hunter was sitting next to a little fire on which he was roasting a deer. "Why are you bothering me with something I already know?"

" **Then why are you not capturing him?** Yeah, why?"

"It would ruin the fun. Chasing desperate prey is part of the hunt. Why are you here?"

" **Hm. It would seem Pein is a rather annoying hindrance.** We cannot enter Amegekure without him noticing us. **But we can feel how Naruto is growing stronger.** His mastery seems to have improved with a weird speed all of a sudden."

"So?"

"Don't you miss him? **You've traveled quite some time with him.** And you didn't even kill him, like everyone else you've worked with. **That's because Naruto is more useful than anyone he's ever worked with.** "

"True, the brat is capable. His growth has been amusing to witness. As well as his intent to kill me."

" **He vowed he'd kill you.** He really didn't take kindly to you beating him up for two consecutive years. **Or perhaps he had some faint impressions of how he died.** But he doesn't like being used as a tool either. **True, though that worries me less than the possibility that he remembers things.** "

"Yeah, the risk that he might remember what happened is something that threatens you two as well," Kakuzu chuckled darkly. "But surely you didn't come out here to waste my time on something as petty as attachments."

"So cold. **So indifferent.** Only caring about money. **But that isn't how Naruto is.** Naruto does care about other people. **You've seen it with Guren. He cares about others.** Making him weak. **Making it easy to manipulate him.** "

"You're still wasting my time," Kakuzu glared.

" **We suspect he has grown attached.** We think he has a girlfriend!" Both Zetsu looked at Kakuzu, mistakenly expecting some kind of response from the man. "Pein wants Naruto to be loyal to Ame, and Naruto is of _that_ age. **Which might be a glitch in our plans.** Yeah, lovesick teenagers are annoying as a wet towel. **You're a towel.** "

"What is your plan," Kakuzu drawled. "You always say you don't trust Pein and Akatsuki, promising war, but Pein offers the same war."

"He wants war, **but he wants it in order to create peace.** He intends to create a huuuuge jutsu- **One so dangerous that no one will ever dare to wage war again.** "

"Peace would be bad for business."

"And that's why we chose you. **You thrive in chaos.** Just like we do. **That's why we have to keep Naruto 'free'**.So that the world changes as we want it."

"And you want me to back you up in that effort."

" **Precisely,** " Black Zetsu grinned maliciously. " **We can't afford to lose Naruto to Pein…** "

* * *

' _What is strength?'_

The question seemed to be so simple. Before, he would've answered it by stating it was knowledge of jutsu, controlling vast amounts of chakra, and to be independent and free. But now… life was ever changing. Perspectives once held meant very little.

' _Perhaps that is why all understanding is incomplete. Not knowing everything means that every conclusion drawn is based on inconclusive and incomplete data.'_

The world was a vast place. Just like how no one would be able to comprehend and wield the endless amounts of natural energy, so too was it near impossible to understand the physical manifestations of the world. He knew his view on the world was limited. He could see that through his connection to the nature around him. He was just one single person within this vast world. _'What is strength? Is it strength if I have more power than any other human? Like Pein?'_

Was Pein truly strong? He seemed to think he could change the world through violence, through amassing such a monstrous power that no one would dare to keep waging wars. But wasn't a peace bought through such an excessive amount of violence and death just a lie? Who was to determine where the weapon would be aimed at? Who had the right to decide who could die and who could live? A god was an entity that stood above normal mortals, elevated and wise, but was Pein such a person? He was human- an extraordinary strong person, yes, but still just a human. He was just as flawed and limited as any other. Who was he to decide the fate of the world?

' _Is it arrogance? He suffered. But Aji-chan suffered too. Pein killed those related to the one who hurt him, yet Aji-chan said she'd love me even if I originated from the nation that killed her family. Which of them is wise? Which of the two is 'god'? What is true strength?'_

He knew. Goals borne out of pain, only with the aim to bring pain, were fragile. Pein was someone who was driven so deep into the darkness that he thought the entire world was evil. What kind of person could call himself a god, when he didn't even understand humanity? By contrast, Ajisai gave without demanding, hoped without ever expecting him to return her feelings, and remained patient even though she didn't understand…

' _I only lived for hunting bounties, never cared about anyone… all I wanted was freedom. To be alone. I've been such a fool. For all my power, for all my knowledge of nature, I never comprehended what it is to be human. Small wonder that that Yamanaka woman went so far to survive. What does it matter if something happens to me? Regardless of what I have to endure, I would rather suffer it myself than drag Aji-chan into it. Is that what strength entails?'_

He extended his senses. Trees, plants, animals, everything was within his grasp. But he knew the trap now. Trying to think that you had any sort of control, it was a mistake. Trying to take, to only see the world around him as a tool that was at his disposal, that was wrong. Mokuton could never be _mastered_. Thinking that his bloodline gave him the right or ability to master the power of nature was an arrogant notion that only emphasized his own human limitations. Mokuton merely offered him the chance to form a relationship with nature, a mutual bond. How could he ever be part of it, if he thought himself above it?

Cold logic only stood in the way of understanding the true abilities of the mokuton kekkei genkai. No, Ajisai showed him the way. This why his abilities had suddenly changed upon seeing Guren's actions: how she protected him, how she cared about Yukimaru. Emotions: nature was too vast to be comprehended with logic. No human possessed the ability or mind to envelop such an enormous amount of information or knowledge. Trying to grasp something too vast to be grasped would inevitably lead to failure and misunderstanding.

And yet all people acted without properly understanding. They loved or hated, irrespective of their capacity to comprehend, but rather out of their heart, their emotions, their subconscious. Mokuton was the expression of life. Cold logic affected the spiritual energy, which in turn was a component of the chakra that empowered his kekkei genkai. In retrospect, Naruto realized that Kakuzu was probably the worst possible teacher that he could have had. Perhaps Zetsu simply did not understand mokuton, just like Madara had failed to understand.

Guren had opened his eyes. Ajisai showed him the way. Emotions changed him. Naruto guessed that this was the love of which he had read so much in the books that Zetsu had provided. Love was the progenitor of life. Life was the foundation of mokuton. In just this short time since Ajisai had surprised him, since she had expressed her admiration and affection, he had learned more from nature than in the many months which he had spent with Kakuzu.

* * *

Ajisai couldn't help but smile as she looked at her boyfriend. Well, she hadn't actually asked him if he wanted to be her boyfriend, but then again… he was cute when he was flustered- even cuter when clueless. Although, now that she could see the red pigmentation around his eyes, lines which extended all the way from his eyes to his ears, she wondered if he really was clueless. At first, he had struggled to only get that single dot on his forehead, but in the past few days he had improved drastically. The dot on his forehead had gotten a ring around it, and the same color of pigmentation had grown around his eyes.

She couldn't say she understood why he needed to meditate as much as he did, nor why those markings mattered so much, but he did look like an entirely different person with them- powerful, overwhelmingly powerful. But the strange thing about it was that she had difficulties sensing him when he did this.

He had tried to explain, but Ajisai hadn't managed to process even a tenth of the confusing description he had given of his powers. It had something to do with drawing energy from nature, on the impressions, smells, and images he got through his connection to the world itself. To him, meditation was a way of being taught. It seemed preposterous to her, as she was taught that a shinobi needed chakra, which was a mixture of physical and spiritual energies. But for some reason he found a third source of energy. He argued that it came from his kekkei genkai, but when he tried to show her…

Well, it was a bit like the times when Fuyo and Suiren tried to explain to her how to 'see' chakra, with them being sensory-type kunoichi. Similarly, they had barely understood how Ajisai could learn fuinjutsu so easily. To her it was logical, but to Fuyo and Suiren her words might as well have been spoken in a foreign language. But his claim that chakra was almost something sentient was just too bizarre for her to properly process. On the other hand, he did show several odd skills.

' _Kunomori-kun has always been more than a usual person. Ever since the first day I met him, he insisted I treated him like an equal. But at that same moment, I knew he was someone way above me. He is like Pein-sama, like Tenshi-sama, not like simple humans like me.'_

She sighed, idly twirling a finger through the purple bang that fell in front of her forehead. If Pein was a god to her, and Konan an angel, then Naruto, whom she knew as Kunomori, would be at least a demi-god.

' _Why did he even accept me so easily? I'm barely worthy of standing in his shadow…'_

"Aji-chan."

"Yes, Kunomori-kun," she quickly got on her feet, hurrying when he called for her. Feelings or not, she still had a duty to perform, a duty given to her by Konan, Tenshi-sama, herself. She did not allow her own depression to be in the way of that.

"You said you have a summoning contract, right?"

"Yes?" she blinked. That pigmentation around his eyes gave him such a serious expression that she nearly faltered under his gaze. ' _Is this the same person that I woke up with?'_ she wondered. He seemed so different from the cuddly and kissable blond.

He seemed so innocent when he slept. Before, he always slept with unease, but ever since they were 'together', he seemed to have found some peace of mind that enabled him to sleep calmly. Although the bulge in his boxers made her feel rather... well, uncomfortable wouldn't be the right word for it. She knew it was a morning thing for men, but still, the thought of what she could do with it made her lose what little confidence she had. The scars that her sister's death had left hadn't faded, even if she did feel her body desire his. ' _Who am I kidding? This is a dream. A perfect dream. But one day, I'll wake up and find that he's gone- that he has found a woman who is as strong as he is, someone who is his equal. Who is better than I am. Not someone like me, who-´_

A pair of strong arms pulled her out of her thoughts, pulling her into an embrace that startled her.

"K-Kuno-"

"Why do you always look so sad when I'm training?"

' _Should I tell him? Would he laugh at me? Or worse, would he agree? Would he admit that he's just using me for his own pleasure, casting me aside as soon as his training is done?'_

"Aji-chan, do I have to tickle it out of you?"

"I'm not as ticklish as you are, Kunomori-kun," she giggled in spite of herself. He cheated. Tickling her with vines _had_ to be against the rules. "I'm just… worried."

"Why? Is someone bothering you?"

"Other than me? No," Ajisai sighed. "It's just that you are so much stronger than me."

"Why would that worry you?" he blinked.

' _He said he doesn't remember where he's from. Perhaps he simply doesn't have the same ideals as the people of Ame?'_ She allowed herself a small shred of hope, before forcefully putting it down. Life did not allow the people of Amegakure to indulge themselves in idle fantasies. "I'm not worthy of you," she finally admitted. She figured that if he'd tear her heart out, he might as well do it now, before she reached a point from which she couldn't recover.

"What kind of nonsense is that?" she saw him grimace. "Why on earth would my strength make you unworthy of… you're the best thing that's happened me in all my life!"

"But I'm weak. Someone like you should-"

"Do you know why I'm getting stronger?" the blond gently put his hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him. Any idea of her trying to seduce him seemed so wrong now, this girl had no hidden agenda, no underlying purpose, and she truly loved him for who he was. Yet, she obviously felt inadequate compared to him. How wrong she was. "I'm growing because of you. I know, it sounds like a stupid cliché, but it's true. Mokuton is literally the conversion of chakra into life. And you've made me feel alive, more than anything else. Rather than the cold logical view on the world which I was taught, you've shown me a world filled with emotions. It affects my mood, my chakra, and it is the reason why I can say it without lying."

"So… you don't care that I'm weak?" Ajisai hesitated. "In Ame, strong people like you are supposed to find the strongest kunoichi as their partners. You are stronger than any of our jonin, while I'm just a common chunin."

"But no one would care for me like you do, nor is there any that I care for as much as I care for you, so what does it all matter? Hell, whether you're able to kick my ass or whether you were a civilian, I don't care. It is _you_ that I care about, not your power. Besides, you are not as weak as you think you are," he kissed her. "If anything, I'd argue that I'm the one who isn't worthy of you. I mean, look at me. I'm covered with scars, and the worst ones aren't even visible. And yet you never made a problem out of it. For months you silently looked after me, and suddenly you jumped in my arms… even when I don't even really understand this whole emotions thing, I can promise you one thing, Aji-chan, and that is that I've never felt anything like this for anyone but you."

Any thought of training was forgotten when she kissed him.

* * *

Barely taking the time to wait after she knocked loudly, the kunoichi of the Intelligence Division barged into Tsunade's office. "It…It's bad! Godaime-sama!"

"What is it?" Tsunade was annoyed by the interruption. She was enjoying a fairly calm and enjoyable day so far, what with only handing some simple missions to her troops. Team ten had just gone out for a simple escort mission, and she was about to call it a day. Not having any cases to give her headaches was nice for a change. Unfortunately, that peace wasn't here to last.

"Sunagakure was… The Kazekage has been taken by an organization called Akatsuki! We just received the message," the black-haired woman blurted out. Shizune gasped, and Tsunade grimaced.

"Gaara… Assemble a unit of Anbu," she snapped at Shizune. "Ask for Tenzo. He can pick seven others, the strongest he can find, and is to report here within the hour."

"Tsunade-sama?"

"They will have to set out to Suna immediately, assess the situation, and aid Suna wherever possible," Tsunade clarified impatiently. "I'm not going attack them! Konoha and Suna are allies. If someone abducts their leader, we, as their allies, must be there to aid them.

* * *

"You are supposed to wear your ring at all times."

"Eh? Wazzat?" Naruto struggled to open his eyes. He felt Ajisai stir, suddenly shriek, then attempt to hide underneath the blanket. "Aji-chan?" he blinked, looking around in the cabin. "Konan?" he noticed the blue-haired woman standing in the door opening.

"I'm sorry if I am disturbing anything, but you weren't responding to the call," Konan drawled, her expression as emotionless as usual. "So if you could get dressed and put on your ring…"

"Disturbing? Neh, we're just sleeping… erm, together," Naruto scratched the back of his head, painfully aware that he wasn't wearing his mask either. "I guess it would be rather pointless to say that Ajisai decided to stay because we kept training till it was dark?"

"…"

"You should really lighten up a bit," Naruto sighed, before turning serious. "Fine, I'll come. But one thing, keep this a secret. If this Akatsuki stuff somehow gets Aji-chan hurt-"

"If you fear what might happen to Ajisai, you would understand why I desire peace. If our desires are the same, she is in no peril," was all that Konan said in return. After all, she fought because the man she loved had died. It was up to Naruto to fight for the girl he loved, and keep her alive. Unlike Konan, he still had a chance to protect his happiness.

Putting on clothes and the ring, Naruto discovered that the ring acted as a communications device as well. Pein was not amused. Then again, Naruto had never seen the man do anything that remotely counted as a smile. It turned out that Orochimaru and Sasori had succeeded at capturing the jinchuriki of the Ichibi, while Kisame and Hidan had caught the jinchuriki of the Nibi. There went his plans of visiting Suna.

Sealing the Sanbi had taken three days, so two bijuu… Naruto wasn't too thrilled. He counted himself lucky that between the nine of them (the unknown tenth member was once again shining in absence), they were allowed to take short breaks. At least Ajisai would look after his body while his consciousness was projected here.

"'Morning, brat."

"Good morning, Kakuzu," Naruto yawned. "Isn't it a bit too early for this shit?"

"It is never too early to kill someone," Hidan announced.

"Wow. Eight words in one sentence, it seems you've gotten a bit smarter, Hidan."

"You filthy heathen brat!" Hidan swung his shadowy scythe, but with them being mere projections, the entire motion was rather futile.

"Shut up, Hidan. Oy, you look like you've grown a bit. Care for a duel next time?" the shadow of Kisame asked. "Who knows, Kakuzu might even put some money on you this time."

"Right. Kakuzu and gambling," Naruto chuckled. "What's the next thing you're going to say, that Hidan is secretly a pacifist? That Orochimaru actually has ethics? That Sasori-"

"We will commence the sealing now," Pein cut Naruto off before every member of Akatsuki got riled up. Leading a group of criminally insane yet very powerful S-ranked shinobi was a taxing job. But if it led to the world being at peace, it was a sacrifice which Pein was more than willing to bear.

* * *

At least two days had passed before Naruto could finally take a break- he had lost track of the hours that had drifted by. Now he had a chance to get some food, and perhaps an hour or two of sleep until Pein summoned him again. ' _They could've warned me that those rings had such a function,_ ' he grumbled internally. His bad mood vanished like snow under the sun when he realized that Ajisai was literally sleeping with her head on his leg. Sitting in the lotus position, Naruto already had a bad case of cramp after two days of sitting in such a fashion, so he barely even felt her head resting there at first.

Still, he had to move, regardless of how content she seemed. "Aji-chan," he gently caressed her purple hair. While he never understood why she put it up like that, the onion-like bun style was something which he found rather cute.

"Kunomori-kun?" she mumbled sleepily. "You've returned already?"

"Just a break," he struggled to get up but his legs failed him. "Is there some food around? I'm kinda hungry."

"I'll get it right away!"

"I really need you to teach me that storage-style of sealing," Naruto chuckled. "It is the most convenient jutsu ever."

He quickly wolfed down the onigiri she unsealed, and with a few balls of rice in his stomach, he contently lay down in bed. "Sorry that I can't enjoy the meal properly, but I don't have much time."

"You are aiding Kami-sama," she nodded. "If Kami-sama needs help, it must be difficult."

"It is. Sort of," Naruto yawned. "But it'll be easier with a few hours of sleep. We're not even halfway through, so it's likely that I'll stay like this for another day or three, perhaps four. I must be horrible company now."

"It's not worse compared to normal. Watching you meditate isn't very thrilling, you know."

"I'll make it up to you once we're done," Naruto promised, giving her a kiss before he closed his eyes. Only after she lay down next to him did he feel at ease enough to catch what little sleep Pein was willing to give him.

* * *

"Our apologies about the disruption," the shade of Orochimaru flickered back into existence. Seconds after, Sasori joined him. "We had visitors."

"Suna shinobi?" Pein asked.

"No, they were from Konoha," Orochimaru chuckled. "The two that survived didn't see anything, though. We're quite lucky they did not interrupt while we were sealing the Ichibi." The Gedo Mazo had already been moved to the hideout where Kisame and Hidan had taken the jinchuriki of the Nibi.

"Sloppy," Kisame yawned. "Can't even kill a few petty Konoha nin? You must be getting soft on your old day."

"There was one among them who I'd like to add to my collection," Sasori's gravelly voice was barely audible. "Kunomori-san might like to meet that one."

"Hm, yes, I was not expecting to meet one of my old experiments," Orochimaru's shadowy figure sounded almost tentative. "I'd written off those experiments as a failure; to see that one of them survived was quite surprising. But even while he carries some of the DNA of Senju Hashirama, his mokuton seemed rather fragile."

"Mokuton?" Naruto frowned. "There is someone else?"

"Yes, Kunomori-kun… though, if you give me some of your blood, I might create a few brothers or sisters for you."

"This Konoha nin is someone whom you and Kakuzu should track down," Pein cut Orochimaru off. "With access to the Konoha files, that man might possess skill which you have yet to learn. Besides, you were supposed to be re-joining Kakuzu soon anyway. With the Ichibi and Nibi down, it is time for our organization to start moving in earnest."

" **The Kyuubi should be reforming soon** ," Zetsu supplied. It was a blatant lie, but only Pein and Kakuzu knew that it was such. The Kyuubi had never perished, as its jinchuriki had survived. " **It is two and a half years since its jinchuriki died.** And yet no one visits his grave anymore. Poor jinchuriki. **People hate that which is foreign to them. It is inevitable.** Still, to have no one to look after you… **That is why you can't trust anyone.** "

' _So I have to leave Amegekure. Damn. I knew it would happen, for a long time I didn't really care. Hell, I would've been happy to finally be freed from that endless rain. But Aji-chan…'_ Naruto scowled and forced himself to focus on supplying chakra to the seal. The sooner the Nibi was locked away in that butt-ugly statue, the sooner he could return to Ajisai. It was weird how quickly his situation had changed, but once he realized that it did, he didn't want anything to get between him and Ajisai. Still, he had no choice in this matter, and taking her along was far too dangerous as well. While her prowess in sealing was very useful, the jinchuriki were opponents far beyond the capabilities of any chunin.

* * *

It seemed to become a regular occurrence by now. Again, a kunoichi of the Intelligence Division barged into Tsunade's office, and again with bad news. "Thank you," Tsunade grimaced, after she received the message. "You are dismissed."

"Godaime-sama," the kunoichi bowed and left. Shizune and Ino, who were both helping Tsunade out with her daily tasks, looked at their leader.

"So Orochimaru is indeed part of the same organization," Tsunade sighed. "We should count ourselves lucky that Tenzo made it out alive. Losing six of our best Anbu is painful, though."

"Against Orchimaru and a puppeteer of that level, it is a miracle even two people survived," Ino muttered. "Two S-ranked shinobi, Akatsuki is insane…"

"That was Akasuna no Sasori," Tsunade clarified. "A devil with poisons. I've encountered him and his grandmother quite a few times during the war. To think that someone like him joined that organization… then again, with a mokuton user, a supposedly long-dead traitor from Takigakure, and Orochimaru, anything which should be considered normal has long since been thrown overboard. But that it is in fact them who killed Gaara..."

"It seems Jiraiya-sama was right when he suspected Akatsuki to be after the jinchuriki," Shizune grimaced. "Tsunade-sama, do you think… could it have been _them_ , that day?"

"If they targeted Yagura and Gaara, it is possible that they were the ones who killed Naruto," Tsunade admitted. "With him having the Kyuubi sealed within him, he would have formed a target for them too. But to what end? What do they want to achieve by killing jinchuriki?"

"T-they don't seem to just kill them," Ino remarked hesitantly. "They took Gaara with them, and Yagura's corpse wasn't found at the place where he was beaten either." Instead, the corpse had resurfaced in the bounty circuit, with some unknown party cashing in the sum of ryo which Kumogakure had issued. "But Naruto-kun was… he was found at the spot." Well, parts of Naruto had been found at the spot, but that horrid detail was something that Ino did not want to remember.

"And yet the Kyuubi has yet to reappear."

* * *

' _Should I tell her my name? Should I tell her what little I know about myself? Wouldn't it put her in danger? Konan knows about us anyway, so she's already in danger,'_ Naruto pondered. They had finally finished sealing the Nibi in the Gedo Mazo. The corpse of the poor woman who had been used by Kumogakure to seal the Nibi had fallen to the ground, signifying that she was completely drained of all traces of the Nibi's chakra.

Pein had granted him another day to gather equipment and such, before Naruto had to leave Amegakure and join Kakuzu in the pursuit of their next target. Kakuzu was supposed to go home for this one, visiting Takigakure in order to capture the Nanabi.

Pein and Konan would personally move to capture the Rokubi, whose jinchuriki was notoriously hard to track down, even for Zetsu. The Yonbi would be a target for Kisame and Hidan, while Orochimaru and Sasori would go to Kumogakure to seek out the Hachibi, a bijuu that Orochimaru already had some knowledge on due to messing with its previous jinchuriki.

With Kakuzu currently being in Mizu no Kuni, Naruto was supposed to meet him in Hi no Kuni. But due to Naruto being closer to the rendezvous than Kakuzu, Pein had not seen any reason for Naruto to leave immediately- something for which Naruto was grateful, as he didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to Ajisai first.

' _But how?'_ He saw her sitting at the veranda of their cabin, elevated from the ground by a thick tree, dangling with her legs over the edge. Judging by the drenched appearance of her lavender pants and light purple kimono jacket, she had just come back. The floor creaked and her head jerked back, seeing him as he tried to sneak up to her.

"Welcome back," she smiled. "Another break, or are you finished?"

"For now," Naruto sighed. "But… I have to leave Ame tomorrow."

To her credit, she winced and only showed her real emotions for a fraction of a second, before her smile returned. It was slightly forced, perhaps, but she was determined not to show that she felt hurt. "I knew this day would come. Tenshi-sama said that I would only have to look after you for a few months at most," Ajisan admitted. "But… I know it is selfish-"

"I don't want to leave either," Naruto smiled sadly. "And if it were possible, I'd take you along. But the people whom I'm after are too strong for that. Last time I fought one of them, I nearly ended up dying. Hell, I would've died for sure if it hadn't been for Guren and Kakuzu. But now… I'm stronger, I know that, but I'm unsure whether I'm strong enough to keep you safe, and I'd never forgive myself if something would happen to you. Not that I think you are weak, but these are all S-ranked people."

"I know," she sighed. He sat down next to her, his legs dangling down. Personally, he didn't really understand why Ajisai liked heights. Perhaps it was because she lived most of her life in this skyscraper-hell. Ame was too industrialized for his liking: too much stone and metal, too little greenery. "Tenshi-sama and Kami-sama need your help to end the wars."

' _But is their way to end it all good? I don't think it is. But what is the alternative? War left its scars on people like Pein and Konan, but also on Aji-chan. I can't let this situation continue. On the other hand, if their plan is set in motion, how many more end up scarred? It is wrong to do nothing, but is it right to allow their plan to continue? To let so many die to buy a false peace?'_ he looked at his side. Sitting next to him, Ajisai leaned to his shoulder. ' _Yeah… if not for Aji-chan I'd probably just end up giving Pein the finger and thwart his plans. Ajisai makes me selfish. I know it's wrong, but her survival and happiness are more important to me than all the nameless people who have to be sacrificed for the sake of peace.'_

"I'd almost think Pein planned this all out."

"Huh?"

"Me falling in love with you," he kissed her on her cheek. Regardless of whether or not he fell into a trap which Pein set up to ensure his loyalty, Naruto knew that he would've responded in the exact same way. Whatever the circumstances, Ajisai had always been honest. She made him feel things he had never felt before, like this cold, gray world had gotten colored. ' _Especially with purple and lavender._ '

He had never said it before, not out loud, that he loved her. Ajisai felt a few tears running down, which he gently touched.

"It's not a bad thing that I feel that way, is it?" he wondered.

"I'm just happy. I love you too, Kunomori-kun," she gave him a teary yet radiant smile.

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated. The rain had traces of chakra, he knew. Pein's method of making it impossible to enter Amegakure unnoticed. The fact that even Zetsu had not showed himself for all this time told Naruto that even he couldn't hide from Pein's jutsu. Still, as far as Naruto knew, Pein was not able to 'see' everything in the literal sense. He noticed anomalies through the rain, yes, but could not see everything within the rain. Otherwise, Konan would not be leaving her origami trinkets behind.

"Paper is just a dead form of wood," Naruto smirked, leaving Ajisai confused as to what he meant. Within this tiny forest, Naruto could track down every little paper which Konan had left to observe him. A few hand seals later and a Moku Bunshin jumped down, which would retrieve and return the pieces of paper to Konan: a little jab to show her that he could see right through her jutsu was a final little prank on his side.

Amassing chakra, Naruto let the cabin lower a bit, shrinking the supporting tree, while growing a dozen new ones around the cabin at the same time. Startled, Ajisai dragged herself back indoors. The trees grew branches, and soon covered the entire cabin. Not a single ray of light could pierce it. Satisfied, Naruto opened his eyes and entered the cabin. Ajisai had already unsealed a lantern, and had lit it.

"Kunomori-kun? What was that? What are you doing?"

"Secrecy," Naruto chuckled. "I had to make sure that no one else can listen in. We're completely surrounded by wood now. Only filtered air enters, but not a single drop of rain will pierce these defenses."

"Why?" Ajisai frowned. "It seems rather… excessive."

Naruto helped her lighting another few lanterns, so that they could properly see each other. "Before I leave, I want to be completely honest," Naruto admitted. "But knowledge is dangerous in our world."

"Honest? I don't understand?"

"Kunomori is not my real name," Naruto sighed. "It is a name given to me because I have to hide my real identity."

"Why? W-who are you?"

"I don't really know _who_ I am, that's something I can't remember. But I do know my name, Naruto, as well as the fact that I'm originally from Konoha," Naruto shrugged, feeling rather helpless. "Not that I can remember Konoha. Hell, I only know my name because Zetsu gave me two options, and only Naruto sounded familiar. Zetsu warned me that because I'm from Konoha, I should hide my name from Pein. From what I was told, Pein lost someone due to Konoha, and has a grudge against the village and its inhabitants."

"So… you're from Konoha."

"I understand that it is difficult for you, Aji-chan, but… I don't want to lie to you any longer. I just hope that I haven't hurt you by doing that thus far. If you're mad at me I-"

"Stop it," she closed in and hugged him. "I told you that I don't care where you're from. And a name doesn't change who you are, Kuno… Naruto-kun. It'll take some time to get adjusted to the name."

"So you're not mad at me?" Naruto blinked.

"How can I be, when you're honest with me, in spite of the risk it puts you in?" Ajisai smiled. "I don't know what Konoha did to Pein-sama, but _you_ didn't do anything wrong."

"Yet he won't care about such distinctions. Did the infants that were related to Hanzo do anything to hurt Amegakure?" Naruto asked her. She couldn't answer that. In truth, she'd felt relief when she learned that Hanzo's entire family had been eradicated, and now… "If Pein finds out I'm from Konoha, he will desire my death. And when Konan tells him about us, he will target you as well. Pein might even use you as bait to lure me into a trap. That is why I went so far to hide us from his eyes. You must not tell him or Konan. I made it pretty clear to Konan that I wouldn't like it if she blabbered about seeing us sleep in the same bed. I don't really care if he wants me to die, but if he hurts you-"

"Don't you think I'd be hurt if something happens to you!?" Ajisai snapped. She grabbed him by the collar of his robe. "Don't you think I already hate it that I can't help you? I can't even protect person I love…"

Her head hung down, and Naruto could hear her sniffle. "I'm coming back for you, Aji-chan. No matter what happens, no matter what I have to do, I'll return to you. Even if I have to destroy the world, I'll never let you down."

"Naruto-kun," she leaned towards him, kissing him. She kissed him like they were already saying goodbye. Somewhere along the line, he had taken hold of her right hand, and she felt his chakra swirl. Breaking contact, she saw what he did.

"Two rings from one sort of wood. That way you'll always recognize me, and I you," Naruto smiled. "No Henge in the world is going to fake this. It's made with the energy from nature itself, so only I will be able to sense it. And when I'm close enough, you should able to sense me through the ring, as it'll respond to mine."

"This… is this…?"

"I claim you, Aji-chan," Naruto kissed her.

"And I you, Naruto-kun." They resumed making out, but this time it was her hands that took the initiative, removing his robe, even pulling down…

"Aji-chan?"

* * *

 **Warning: LEMON.**

 **Those incapable or unwilling to deal with lemons, please skip.**

* * *

"I want this, Naruto-kun. You've given me all you have. Now I'll give you all that I am," she kissed him, but this time blushing wildly. With one pull at her sash, Ajisai's pants fell down too. "Please be gentle. This is my first time."

"I don't think I have done this before either," Naruto laughed a bit nervously. "Only things I know come from those crappy novels which Zetsu gave me once. Icha Icha. Not sure what Zetsu was thinking when he said it would make me understand normal people," he blushed. "I… eh… are you really sure?" His isolated life had left him unaccustomed to people, but he wasn't completely dumb either. Before this point, each time their cuddling and kissing had gotten too heated, she pulled out. And after what she told him about the horrible things that happened to her older sister, Naruto knew why. He loved her, longed for her. But in spite of himself, he never wanted to hurt her. Regardless of what he wanted, he found what she wanted more important.

"I've doubted long enough about this," Ajisai smiled a bit wryly. Cuddling and kissing weren't things that troubled her, to say the least, but sex… part of her feared that it would be like what happened to her sister, and the other part heatedly longed for his body to join with hers. "If you're going to leave tomorrow, I'll at least give you something to remember me by. I can't let my stupid fears hinder me any longer."

"How could I ever… forget… you…" Naruto's voice wavered when she removed her light purple kimono jacket. Unable to control himself, he took her in his arms, fumbling with the wrappings around her chest while they kissed. She didn't have it much easier with his remaining clothing. Anxiety got the better of them both.

Eventually, he only wore his boxers, which did very little to conceal his bulging erection, and she wore only her lavender panties. Her body was slender, but still she had hidden a perfect set of b-cup breasts underneath her loose clothing and wrappings. He wondered why she'd hide them, cupping one breast with his hand while the other softly rubbed over her back. She moaned in his mouth when his thumb touched her nipple, and kissed him with increasing fervor.

Both his hands lowered, lifting her from the ground with his hand on her butt, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. The bed seemed the best place to continue. Gently putting her down, he yelped when she grabbed him by his hair, pushing his head down, straight into her chest. "So soft," he grinned. "And here I thought you were a hardass kunoichi."

"Less talk," she mumbled breathlessly. His hand slid down her back, squeezing her softly in her butt.

"Let's see if those books were right about this too," he chuckled. The thing about the nipples was right, so why not this too? Suddenly, those Icha Icha books weren't so odd anymore. His hand slipped into her panties, where it was surprisingly warm. The curly tuft of purple hair was quite wet already.

"Kuno… Naruto-kun?" her light green eyes widened.

"Just doing what I've read," and in the moment he kissed her, his fingers slipped in. He used the moment her mouth opened wide to stick in his tongue; that was something they knew by now, although Naruto had to admit it still felt a bit weird. Or perhaps it was because her tongue was faster and more flexible? He always lost that little wrestle.

His finger was distracting her this time, though. She pushed her hips to his hand. He had to explore for a bit until she gasped. It seemed he had found a certain extremely sensitive part of her erogenous zone. The more he rubbed over it, the more her tongue went numb, and her eyes closed halfway, her blush only intensifying- until she gasped, screamed almost, clenching her legs, and finally lost all senses for a moment.

"One to zero," he whispered in her ear. ' _I gotta find the guy who wrote those books. He's a freaking genius!'_

Even if she was still panting, Ajisai toppled him over, now being the one who pinned him down. "I'm going to make you lose. Or at least make you put your inhuman stamina to good use," she leaned down and kissed. "But this is in the way." She tore away his boxers, and disposed of her own soaked panties in a similar way.

With his member freed from the constraining cloth, losing those boxers was the last thing that was on his mind. Rather, he felt her private parts rubbing over his erection. Her hands moved over his chest, following the scars that were left the day he lost his memories. While Tobi's tissue had been completely integrated into Naruto's body, there still was this slight difference in color. Ajisai knew he was slightly bashful about it, but she didn't mind at all. Scars were symbols of battles he had survived. They were a symbol of experience, and the strength to endure such hardships. She knew he'd get involved in many more battles before Pein's plan came to fruition, and if scars were all that Naruto got from it she'd be happy.

He groaned as she kept teasing him, but her hands slowly moved down over his body. Neither of them was sure who was more awkward at the moment she took his penis in her hand. "D-don't move," Ajisai muttered. She moved her hips, and let him in.

"Heavenly," Naruto moaned. "Aji-chan?"

"J-just a moment," she grimaced. "Less heavenly here."

"I'm sorry, I-"

"Shut up," Ajisai flicked him on his stomach. "It'll be great soon enough. Just be glad you're not a girl."

"I'm sure there are jutsu to change that temporarily," he grinned mischievously.

"Henge is just illusionary."

Banter or not, Naruto cringed a bit when she lowered her hips further and let out a pained groan. He felt awesome, the moment he broke through some kind of barrier, but seeing her in pain dampened much of his pleasure. Then, in one move, and one more gasp, she took it all it.

"Blood?"

"First time, silly," Ajisai smiled at his worry. "And you better take responsibility."

"I already claimed you, Aji-chan. Nothing is going to change that. Even if I have to fight the shinigami myself, I'm never letting go."

"L-looks like I'm the one who holds you now, though." He felt her insides contracting while she slowly moved up, and then down. Another grimace, but not as bad as the first one. Gradually, her movements became less erratic, and her expression changed from the uncomfortable feeling she had first, to the pleasure which was starting to grow- again. She was so absorbed by the feeling that was blooming, a sensation even more powerful than when his fingers had…

"Aji-chan," Naruto interrupted her thought with a rather alarmed expression. "I c-can't… too good… can't hold much longer… at all…"

"Do it, Naruto-kun. Make me yours!" Her mind went blank when she felt him erupt within her. That warm shot inside triggered a flood of pleasure.

It took them minutes to catch their breath. His weakening limb was still within her as she laid face-down on his chest, listening to a fast heartbeat. Whether it was hers own or his, she didn't know. "D-darn… a draw," she eventually muttered.

"Ehm… Aji-chan… isn't this… you know, bad?"

"Birth control jutsu are awesome," Ajisai smiled contently.

"Hm. Yeah, it's probably better if we didn't do that until things quiet down, with Akatsuki and all it wouldn't be a good place for kids," Naruto's hand crawled over her back, making her shudder in pleasure. "So sensitive… I'm sure I'll be the one who wins the next round."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Naruto and Ajisai form quite the unusual pairing, don't they? As far as I know, there's not even a single other fic with this pairing. There are stories, like **Remnant of Pain** by **The Unchained Melody** , which give attention to the female body of Pein. But all in all, it wasn't something I've seen before. This made it fun to do, to write something new, at least I thought so while I was working on creating the plot. Walking off the beaten path seemed more fun than repeating the same stuff that others did countless times before.

Google is teaching me a little Japanese, by the way. 'Aji' is a Japanese word that could translate to 'taste', making the abbreviation 'Aji-chan' a bit of a pun, I suppose. More ironic is that the word Aji is also used in the game of Go, where it means 'possibilities left in a position', or 'potential'. I should be careful not to hand out spoilers now…

I thank the mighty **Illuminated** for sacrificing some of his precious time to edit this chapter! Also, I thank all you who follow, fav, or review this little adventure.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	7. Reunion

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Seven**

 **Reunion**

* * *

" _I dreamed of you every night. It felt so real. And when I'd wake up the next morning, it was like your disappearance was fresh. Like you'd left me all over again."_

― Brodi Ashton

* * *

It had been a full day since he left Ame, and Naruto was still grinning like a madman. While the teal Akatsuki ring on his right index finger left him mostly indifferent, the new wooden ring on his left index finger was something that was constantly at his mind. It was definitely the best night of his life.

Ajisai.

The solemn and silent girl that had been assigned as his attendant had grown to be his girlfriend, his lover. His… well, fantasies, on where they would live, after the plans of Akatsuki had come to fulfillment, were rather pointless at this stage. Perhaps they could travel for a while first, before deciding where to settle. His current environment was quite to his liking. There were trees, an endless expanse of trees. This was what the world ought to look like, in his opinion- not the dreary endless rain and those horrible industrialized- style buildings. If not for Ajisai, he'd never return to Amegakure: too much metal, too little green.

' _Ironic that I found my sole source of happiness in the most depressing place in the world,'_ he chuckled to himself. All alone on the road (strange, how lonely one can feel once your loved one isn't next to you,) Naruto was steadily heading to the place where Zetsu told him to wait for Kakuzu. It hadn't taken long for the plant-man to pop out of the ground after Naruto left Ame. With his improved understanding of nature, or of himself, Naruto had noticed Zetsu's approach, taking timely precautions so as to not reveal his good mood. He wasn't willing to tell Zetsu about Ajisai. He didn't trust Black Zetsu enough. No, as soon as Black Zetsu discovered that Naruto wasn't the convenient tool he once was, Ajisai would be in danger. Naruto held no illusions on that. Zetsu's seeming intention to deviate from Pein's plans only made the situation more precarious.

Fortunately, Zetsu had only focused on the mission at hand. Attacking Takigakure and retrieving their jinchuriki seemed easy enough- especially with Kakuzu at his side, who knew the hidden entrance. Takigakure was, after all, the only shinobi village which actually lived up to its 'hidden' moniker.

Absentmindedly, Naruto wondered if Ajisai had already moved all the furniture to her own apartment. The training ground where they had lived would be opened up to public again, now that he left, so she couldn't stay in the cottage which Naruto had created, which forced her to go back to her own apartment. Her being an orphan had left her with little money, and the interior of her apartment had suffered accordingly. Naruto's ability to create pretty much everything that wasn't a complex mechanism out of wood had come in handy. Her ability to seal things in her cards was equally convenient.

Naruto smiled as he touched the sash that Ajisai had given him. It was a brown-orange sash similar to the one that Ajisai wore, with a pouch in front where he stored several of the sealing cards which Ajisai had made for him while he had been busy sealing the Ichibi and the Nibi. The larger pouch on his back contained several items, such as a bottle in which Ajisai had somehow engraved a seal, enabling it to contain vast amounts of drinking water or other beverage. The scroll containing food, predominantly Ajisai's beloved onigiri, was an amazing gift as well. In comparison, Naruto felt like a cheapskate by only giving her that easily-made furniture. At least, it was easily made by him. She had explained how wooden furniture was worth a small fortune in Ame, due to the fact that they had to import proper wood from abroad, since the trees in Ame were of an inferior quality. Ame did not like doing business with outside forces, on top of that.

With the sash over his dark blue pants, the only change in appearance that Naruto had made was the dark blue shirt which Ajisai had sought out for him when they visited the stockrooms again. However, most of it got hidden underneath his Akatsuki cloak anyway. The lower half of his face was hidden by the black cloth mask, and the upper half covered by a straw hat; Naruto hid his features well. The only thing he lacked in comparison to the other members of Akatsuki was a hitai-ate. Konan had offered him one before he left, but he hadn't felt like wearing an Amegakure forehead protector was right, so he had declined.

At the end of the day, Naruto crossed a small village, where a foolish group of bandits tried to rob him. Naruto hadn't seen a single soul after he had skewered those rogues. As if drawing blood invited him, Naruto soon sensed his partner's vast chakra. He might have hidden himself from regular sensors, but to Naruto, Kakuzu's chakra was clearly visible. One did not lie against nature easily. Picking up the pace, Naruto met up with Kakuzu an hour later.

"Brat."

"Geezer."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, scanning over Naruto. "You've grown."

"I guess. I had some time to focus on discovering my power," Naruto shrugged. "I don't think I've gotten stronger. Rather, I've gained knowledge of how to use what I already had."

"Let's go," Kakuzu was a man who hated wasting words. Time was money, after all.

"So who's the corpse? A monk?"

"Chiriku of the Fire Temple," Kakuzu grunted. "Put up quite a fight as well. But for thirty million ryo, that was to be expected."

Naruto sighed. They were back to bounty hunting: an ugly life filled with the cold logic of money. But, it was a necessary evil, at least until Naruto figured out whether there was an alternative path to peace. Neither Naruto nor Kakuzu were really worried about the attention which Chiriku's death might have drawn, and casually ran through the forest towards the nearest bounty station.

"Ugh, that stinking shed again?" Naruto muttered. "Fuck that. I'm not going into that urinal again. A rotting corpse is one thing, but the smell of piss and shit on top of it is just nauseating."

"Suit yourself."

"I'll wait outside. It'll take a while before you're finished counting the money, anyway." Naruto yawned and sat down in front of the second-rate café, which provided the cover for the bounty station. There were more buildings in the complex, as it was built next to a main road that ran through Hi no Kuni, but there wasn't a single soul to be seen. Soon Naruto drifted off, daydreaming of a certain girl who had made his life so much better.

Only he was soon rudely woken up by the arrival of four shinobi. Three of them were his age, one older: a jonin whose face Naruto reminded him of something. The blonde girl gasped when she saw him. The others had a grim look which told Naruto that they recognized his robe. Konoha shinobi, Naruto noted, sighting their hitai-ate. In addition, the jonin had a sash just like the late Chiriku, which meant the man likely had a similar bounty too.

"Naruto-kun?"

' _They know my name?'_ Naruto blinked. Perhaps this battle wouldn't be as boring as he had thought. "And who might you guys be?

He stared at the girl with the long, pale blonde hair. Her eyes fixed on his cerulean eyes, filled with a strange mixture of hope and fear. The other two, the one with the black pineapple hairdo and the chubby one with the picky brown mane, were also staring oddly. Only the jonin exploited the moment of confusion.

He was behind Naruto before the boy realized the man had moved, and slashed at him with those peculiar knives. Still, it wasn't fast enough. Naruto had gotten good training at creating barriers, having made a few wooden gates for Ajisai. She used those things as defense, summoning them from her cards whenever she got in a pinch. Asuma's blade, however, were coated in wind chakra. Regardless of whether the jonin broke through the gate, Naruto had bought just enough time to dodge.

"Interesting," Naruto muttered. "If I'm not mistaken you are Sarutobi Asuma. I thought your face looked familiar. Your head is worth even more than that of the monk."

"Akatsuki bastards," the jonin growled. "Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, get moving! Akatsuki always move in two-man teams."

"Oh dear, you don't mean to say you think you can beat me before Kakuzu pops up, do you?" Naruto drawled. The pineapple-head was obviously a Nara, considering how he had just trapped Naruto with the shadow-based jutsu. "Ugh. I just wanted to take a nap. Why don't you guys get out of here? If Kakuzu walks out, you will all die, because unlike me, he only cares about money. He won't show you mercy like I would do."

"That voice. Those eyes," the blonde girl was still looking at him- or at least the part of him that wasn't covered in a mask or a cloak. She seemed too shell-shocked to move: a bad quality for a shinobi. "You've changed, but still…"

"Ino! Snap out of it," the Nara boy shouted, already sweating from the strain which his jutsu put on him. "It can't be Naruto. He died."

"Shikamaru is right," Asuma nodded. "We were warned to separate you, take you down one by one. Obviously, you possess great skill, Kunomori."

"You know that name too?" Naruto raised a brow in surprise. Asuma attacked, probably assuming that Naruto was bound by Shikamaru's jutsu, but Naruto simply stepped to the side. The Nara groaned, struggling to keep control. "Well now… what should I do?"

"Nikudan Hari Sensha! (Spiked Human Bullet Tank)"

The rotund boy became bloated, spinning while covered with kunai. ' _Quite devastating if it hits,_ ' Naruto idly thought- but not worried in any way. "Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu (Wood Release: Smothering Binding Technique)."

"Choji!" The blonde girl finally moved as her rotund friend got caught in a web of wooden branches. Immobilized, Choji could only shrink back to his original size. But before he could escape, the wooden branches already narrowed and ensnared him once again.

"Hm. You were interesting while it lasted," Naruto shrugged. The blonde girl with the turquoise eyes interested him. She was quite similar to the Yamanaka woman he had hunted, a while ago. Her eyes were similar to those eyes that haunted his dreams, before Ajisai had freed him from those nightmares. "What was her name again… Kyoami, wasn't it?"

"W-what?"

"She looked quite similar," Naruto explained. "You must be a Yamanaka as well." Yes, they were from the same clan. And yet… something about this Yamanaka unnerved him. it was as if he was supposed to remember something. But what? Those eyes had haunted his dreams! Who was she?

"You were the one who killed her?"

"Collecting bounties is my job," Naruto nodded, forcibly calming himself. He also found it rather amusing that a shinobi from Konoha would be disgusted by that. Didn't she know how many people had died at the hands of Konoha nin? If his stay at Ame had made one thing clear to Naruto, it was that all hidden villages were the same. And yet, they were all self-righteous enough to think that _they_ were the good guys. "I don't dislike you guys, though. Bounty hunter or not, I will allow you to leave."

By now, Asuma was skipping around in an attempt to evade the vines which Naruto had commanded to grab the man, while the Nara boy was struggling more and more in his futile attempt to halt Naruto.

"Don't you recognize us?" the girl practically begged him. "Don't you recognize _me_?"

Naruto stared at the Yamanaka, idly fumbling his wooden ring at the same time, completely ignoring the futile attempts of the shadow tendrils that crept up his body- they didn't slow him down in the slightest. "Recognition would require memories."

"Ino! Stop hesitating and DO IT!"

In an utmost attempt, ignoring any fancy trick he had in his repertoire and uncharacteristically resorting to an all-out attack, the Nara pushed out every drop of chakra he had in his body to hold Naruto at his place just long enough for the doubting Yamanaka to do her "Shintenshin no Jutsu!"

* * *

The Shintenshin no jutsu had always been an extremely useful jutsu for intelligence gathering- to the degree that most other nations coveted the secrets of the jutsu, yet always failed to get it. Extracting the secrets from a Yamanaka was virtually impossible. The secrets had been safeguarded at the cost of their lives. Anyone who had ended up being imprisoned and interrogated would not be capable of revealing the secrets, as it would terminate their consciousness. Yes, it was bound to the very roots of their consciousness, buried so deep that no conventional method of interrogation had ever proven capable of bypassing or breaking it.

As such, while it was not a kekkei genkai, this 'hiden' ability had never leaked outside the Yamanaka, and the methods of training were kept as the clan's greatest secrets. Inherent to their skills, however, laid a certain weakness. If one entered the mind of others, it required a certain level of sensitivity, an openness that could work against them.

In this case, Yamanaka Ino entered a consciousness which had been torn asunder. An experienced mindwalker might have been able to keep her stability, but Ino soon found herself lost in her target's mind. This mind proved itself to be vastly different from any other she had ever experienced before. "W-where am I?" she muttered. Usually, she ended up seeing the world through her target's eyes. She'd control him, supplanting him, giving her full access to his body and a chance at extracting the knowledge she needed. In this case: who was Kunomori? Was he Naruto?

What she found was a large, dark, damp, sewer-like hall. Odd tubes ran across the walls, overgrown with vines and tree roots. The air was thick and warm, almost oppressively, and she found it hard to breathe. Thin vines crept over the flooded floor, trying to ensnare Ino's legs.

" _Ugh, I gotta keep moving,"_ she muttered to herself, freeing herself from the vines. _"What happened? How did I end up here? No mind should look like this. It's impossible for anyone to have such a solid inner world!"_ …unless Kunomori was Naruto. The mind of a jinchuriki was completely different, as the bijuu that was sealed within the jinchuriki would reside there. It was something her father had warned her and Naruto about when Ino first started training in the art of mind transfer. Considering how close the two children were, Inoichi had feared the risks if Ino would start experimenting with the jutsu. If she had ended up in Naruto's mind, and met the Kyuubi… a death of the mind was also a death of the body.

" _That proves it!"_ If not for the situation she was in, Ino would have cheered. _"He said that recognition requires memories. His voice is quite similar, even though his voice has changed due to going through puberty."_ The last time Ino had seen him was nearly three years ago. They were thirteen, more or less beating around the bush with regard to their feelings, when he had said goodbye prior to the mission in which Naruto allegedly died. _"He must be sixteen by now. He's grown into quite a hunk,"_ she smiled, although the expression quickly faltered. _"But he cannot remember me. Has he forgotten everything from before that mission?"_

Cautiously she moved on, wading through the hall, evading the vines and roots that sluggishly attempted to capture her. There were doors in the hall. The first one had an ominous feel. Ino wasn't sure what was hidden behind it, and was secretly happy that it was blocked off to such a degree. She tried, but other than breaking off some roots, she couldn't move the door more than an inch. If this was indeed Naruto, it could have been the Kyuubi that hid behind it. But the entire door was sealed off by the thickest concentration of overgrowth which she had seen in the entire hallway.

Ino couldn't sense any chakra through the barrier, but she did get that sick feeling in her stomach, the same that she got from the malicious intent that only the strongest shinobi could radiate. Ino had never forgotten Gaara, the jinchuriki of Sunagakure, who had been driven insane by the Ichibi. He radiated the same sickening feeling. At least, until Naruto had beaten him, when Sunagakure and Otogakure had invaded Konoha, after that battle, Gaara had seemingly regained his sanity.

" _Naruto always had a strange way of touching people with his words and emotions,"_ Ino smiled sadly. _"I just hope he hasn't forgotten that too. Why is he wearing that Akatsuki robe? Why would he, as a jinchuriki, join the group that hunts his kin?"_

Several more doors were locked, and others had proven to lead to empty halls, or a hall with odd mirror-like shapes. One of the mirror halls was huge, but dark; the other was far smaller, but illuminated in a warm light. Ino had never seen a mind like this, and was beginning to fear that she'd never find a way out. At this point, she entered the room in which she now stood: a room with a gentle glow, filled with what seemed to be a rain forest. The overabundance of nature surprised her. It was so different from the gloomy hallway. If was as if all life originated from this place. And yet… as she walked deeper into the forest, she felt like she was entering a bottomless abyss.

"All life is endless."

Ino jumped when the voice came from behind her. The boy with his spiky blond hair stood there, his cerulean eyes seemingly curious as he took in his environment. "H-how… how are you here?"

"This is supposed to be my mind, right?" 'Kunomori' countered. "It would be a better question to ask what _you_ are doing here. Clan jutsu or not, this place doesn't seem to fit with any description of the Shintenshin no Jutsu which I've read up till now."

"Are you really Naruto-kun?"

"Perhaps I once was," he answered flippantly. "But let's get out of this forest. For me it won't matter much, but you aren't able to deal with it."

"With what?"

"Nature."

"Nature?"

"Mokuton," he frowned. "I stand close to nature. It took me a while to get accustomed to it, but I highly doubt that you'd be able to endure it. The deeper you go into this forest, the deeper you seem to delve into the energy of nature. At least, that is how it feels like," he shrugged. "Never been here before."

"You've never been in your own mindscape?"

"I relied on sensory perception, not on this."

"What was that in the hall? That closed off door?"

"Hall? Door?" he blinked. "Not sure where you've been. Then again, I can't say how you think you know me either. Or who I once have been. Regardless of who you are, you need to scram. My mind is my own. I will not allow you to control me. I am NOT a tool."

"Don't you… don't you want to remember?" Ino took a step back, tears sprouting in the corners of her eyes. "Don't you want to remember me?"

" **Why would he want to remember you, little girl?** " A third voice grumbled through the forest. Darkness seeped through the hall, and from the shadows rose a second Naruto. " **He already has Aji-chan, he is part of Akatsuki. He is someone new now.**

"What is this?" the non-shadow Naruto growled. "What is happening?"

" **You should shut up and keep out of this**." Naruto felt as if he was looking in a mirror. The expression of this copy was far more aggressive, his eyes black and red rather than white and blue like they should be. But the confidence oozing from the darker shadow-like copy was disturbing Naruto.

"I see," Naruto's voice grew cold at the realization. "So this is why this jutsu is made for interrogations…"

"N-Naruto-kun, what is happening?"

"Don't act like a fool, girl."

" **But she is a fool**."

"This ends now!"

" **It sure does** ," the shadow-Naruto leapt towards Ino, the fingers of his hand shaped like claws as he thrust toward her neck. The Yamanaka fell on her backside, screaming out in fear. Her eyes closed, she waited for the inevitable. But nothing happened. She cautiously opened her eyes, blinking when she saw the shadow-Naruto bound by vines and roots. " **Idiot! What are you doing, why do you stop me from forcing this treacherous bitch out?!** "

"You killing her will solve nothing," Naruto bit back. He didn't know why, but the idea of killing the girl just felt _wrong_ ,very wrong. He felt that way, and had no idea why. It infuriated him. "I don't care who you are, but I don't want either of you walking around in my mind."

" **But I am you, I am not a product of an illusion. I am born from the darkness that resides in your memories. I am who you once have been. I am the pain of your past. Before Zetsu gave you your pathetic new life, before Ajisai entered your life and gave you purpose, you were ME!** "

"If that was who I was, I reject my former self," Naruto said with a cold fury audible in his voice. Before Ino could say a thing, Naruto's hand pierced the chest of his mirror image. Or clone. Or whatever it was. Ino couldn't tell what was happening.

" **Fool… you cannot reject me. That which was cut asunder cannot be destroyed.** "

Red flames flickered, spreading over Naruto's hand, while his shadowy counterpart disappeared. "N-Naruto-kun?"

"Shut up! First you invade my mind, and now you cast this illusion!" Naruto growled, surprised by the anger he suddenly felt boiling within himself. "If you wanted to survive this you should've left me alone! Your honeyed voice utters my name as if you know me, as if you care about me- enough to make me falter. And what is my reward?! Treason! LIES!"

"N-no! Naruto-kun, I didn't do that! Could you please-"

Ino's plea was cut short when his chakra erupted. The last thing she saw was fire spreading over his body, red lines glowing on his face like embers, and his eyes… those anger-filled eyes. But it was the whispered words that followed which remained stuck in her mind. Those words, they kept returning, always making her ponder what they meant. Haunting her in her nightmares, they kept repeating themselves, over and over again, along with the question: _what happened to Naruto-kun?_

" **The limbs, mere meat. The torso, but a vessel. The head, all but unnecessary. The heart, separate, keeps life. The heart, safe from the blade, can be restored. The heart waits, in the fade.** "

* * *

With the copperish taste of blood in her mouth, Ino realized she was back in her own body. The explosion of chakra had forced her out. Whatever had happened, Naruto had truly become powerful enough to earn his position within an organization such as Akatsuki. She felt hands on her shoulder, black eyes looking at her with worry.

"You okay, Ino?"

"Yes, Shika... but we need to run," Ino muttered, her head reeling from all which she had just witnessed.

"The other Akatsuki came out, while you tried to take Kunomori down. Asuma-sensei and Choji are-"

An explosion drowned the sound of Shikamaru's voice. They saw Choji flying by, landing roughly while skipping over the ground. He was left unconscious, and Ino cringed when she saw the angle at which his arm was held. It was broken, at least at one or two spots.

Close by, Asuma was panting. Kakuzu had sent Choji flying. Plus whatever doton jutsu was that the man used, Asuma struggled just to block Kakuzu's fists.

"Right in the middle of things, surprisingly, money came looking for us," Kakuzu chuckled darkly. "I wonder what those fools that follow you did to get the brat in that state of mind. But, I will be lenient. Those thirty million from Chiriku made my day. Your thirty-five on top of that will make this the best payday I've had in decades. So as a bonus, I'll let you deal with the brat."

"What is he?" Asuma felt the chakra that the blond boy was accumulating. "Or is Ino actually right?" he looked at Kakuzu, who was withdrawing already.

"One word of advice, Sarutobi Asuma," Kakuzu added darkly. "Don't let your guard down, or you'll die. And I can't have you end up like an unrecognizable corpse."

Asuma frowned, but didn't look a gift-horse in the mouth. If the tall man was so confident in the abilities of his partner, Asuma figured he would have his fight cut out for him. Attacking Kakuzu now, even if his back was turned towards him, would probably only remove what little chance at survival they had. A one-on-one fight was still better than the two-on-one alternative- unless his team had something to offer. Asuma figured that he would be on his own, but hoped that reinforcements would arrive soon. These levels of chakra were bound to attract attention.

The Sarutobi rushed towards his team. They wouldn't have much time before the other finished whatever he was preparing for. "Asuma-sensei," Shikamaru was the first to speak up. Nothing of his usually lazy demeanor was left. "We should withdraw."

"Reinforcements should be nearby," Asuma grunted. "If we can buy some time, we might still have a chance."

"That's too risky… it's not like you."

"Don't you get it?!" Asuma barked. "That's the best thing we can do right now. These guys are way stronger than I am." Shikamaru's eyes widened, not being used to their sensei acting like this. "Ino, you and I cover Shikamaru, the other Akatsuki said he wouldn't interfere, but we can't afford to trust that."

"Sensei, if we know they're so much stronger, shouldn't we retreat and come up with a better strategy?" Ino tried. She wasn't sure how to put it in words, and she knew that it didn't really matter at this point either: whether Kunomori was Naruto or not, he apparently had no memories of his old life. To make things even worse, there was that dark _something_ within him: an evil that Ino could barely understand. He had thought it was her doing, but it wasn't. This wasn't the Naruto she once knew. This wasn't the Naruto she loved. This was their enemy.

"Don't think they'll let their enemies get away that easily," Asuma shook his head. "They made it pretty clear that they're after my bounty. If we run without putting up a fight, we will all be annihilated. In the worst case scenario, you two will take Choji and run."

"Sensei, no!"

"Yes, Shikamaru. They want my head due to the bounty that's on it. They are not targeting you three. It is the only logical way, and you know that."

"A kinbou move doesn't really suit you," Shikamaru said darkly.

"Hey, I'm not going to turn into a worthless piece just yet- because you three are here too. Hopefully, Choji will wake up soon. If the stories of Shodai's mokuton are true, we will need his physical strength."

As if on his cue, a voice resounded. "Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu! (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique)"

"A Wood Dragon?" Asuma paled. "Damn. Can this get any worse?"

A gigantic wooden dragon entered their sight. The serpentine creature had a short trunk-like nose and long sharp teeth. It was a formidable jutsu, and by the way the eyes glowed up, Asuma feared that the creature had some kind of consciousness of its own as well. On top of the creature's head stood the blond Akatsuki, his face somehow painted with crimson lines. "You should have listened when I gave you a way out," Naruto shouted. "But for messing with my mind, you will all pay the price!"

Asuma cast a look at Ino and Shikamaru. The latter had exhausted his chakra to give Ino a chance to subdue the mokuton user, but Ino had failed. She had an odd look in her eyes, wild, and her chakra seemed to be too low to be of any use.

"With a jutsu of that level… take Choji and run."

"Sensei, we can't do that!"

"I am your taicho," Asuma barked. "You _will_ obey my command. Our plans are pointless. This is a fight that is out of our league."

"Asuma-sensei, what about-" Ino started, but Shikamaru halted her. He dragged her along, to Choji. They were out of time. Ino was still recovering from her jutsu, Choji was knocked out, and Shikamaru knew he completely lacked the chakra to be of use at this point. Asuma was right. Against this power, no strategy would work out. The three of them would only drag Asuma down.

"Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)," Naruto's voice resounded. "Did you think I would let anyone get away? I told you that I will not allow anyone to invade my mind. I can't allow you to leave with whatever you've extracted from me."

Team ten found itself surrounded. A dense forest grew within moments, exactly according to Naruto's wishes. While he originally had nothing against Ino, she did invade his mind. For someone striving for freedom, it was unforgivable that another invaded that last bastion of free will. He was a tool, forced by circumstances and a lack of appealing alternatives, but someone attacking him within his mind was something that put Naruto off. In short: he was mad as hell.

The nimble wooden dragon rushed forward, but before Naruto could reach his blonde attacker her taicho stepped in. Naruto couldn't really be bothered with whatever attack he used that spread those ashes. ' _As if he thinks mokuton is all I can do. Why do people always assume I'm a one-trick pony?'_

Asuma was shocked when he saw the sequence of hand seals, but deemed it to be irrelevant. He was just a bit faster. His fireball would overpower the Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough), having the elemental advantage.

How wrong the jonin was. Whether wind usually just served to fan the flames or not, whether his Katon: Haisekisho (Fire Release: Ash Pile Burning) ignited or not… the wind attack was stronger. Drawing his power from nature itself, Naruto's chakra reserves dwarfed that of the jonin, to a degree that even Kakuzu frowned in mild surprise.

Kakuzu knew his partner had the potential, knew that he was growing at an unbelievable rate, but to see this display was something different entirely. He had witnessed the outbursts of Naruto before, stopping his multiple rampages. Right now, however, that power was controlled and calm, unlike the wild state that Kakuzu usually saw. Now Kakuzu came to understand why Zetsu held the boy as a contingency against Pein. Pein was powerful, but if the boy kept growing at this rate…

The sea of flames created by Asuma's jutsu, which had been fanned out by Naruto's futon jutsu, forced the jonin to leap back. The fire attack hadn't even damaged the wooden dragon, and the damage to the surrounding forest wasn't substantial enough either.

"Mokuton isn't the only thing I can do," Naruto growled. "I gave you more chances than any of my previous bounties, but unfortunately… what the hell?"

Under the cover of the smoke which the fire had created, Asuma had vanished, only to reappear at Naruto's side. A knife, clad in wind chakra, lashed out to Naruto's head. Asuma might have caught Naruto slightly off guard, exploiting the fraction of a second which the blond needed to dodge, but that did not mean that the dragon on whose head they stood couldn't react. Confirming Asuma's fear of it having a consciousness of its own, the dragon bucked up, making the jonin losing his footing just enough for Naruto to get out of his range.

Still, Naruto felt warm blood running down his neck. "Almost," Naruto grunted. ' _I don't even know why I'm giving them so many opportunities. I'm babbling like a cliché villain. Did I grow soft these past months, or is it that they seem to know the old me? And still… even when I gave them so many openings, they still didn't run.'_

No one had visited his grave. Zetsu's words resurfaced. These people knew the old Naruto, but obviously didn't care enough to really miss him. The sight of the shade within his mind occupied Naruto's thoughts. If that was what Konoha made him, he would never want to return. If that _thing_ had been a representation of his old self, of his pain and suffering, he wouldn't want anything to do with the place that made him that way. No, Ajisai would offer him a much better place to stay. He didn't care where in the world he would be, as long as it was at her side.

"We will stop Akatsuki, even if it takes everything we have."

"It will take everything, Sarutobi Asuma, but it will achieve nothing," Naruto mumbled. "Because our leader is right. With people like you, with a village like Konoha, the world will never cease to be at war."

Adding action to his words, Naruto now went on the offensive. He let his dragon aim for the trio of chunin, while he challenged the jonin in close combat. Asuma was faster and had an advantage in reach, but Naruto was accustomed to battling superior opponents. But Naruto could exploit his mokuton kekkei genkai, even at this range. Naruto had far more chakra, and could outlast the man. Before long, Asuma lost his trench knives, both ended up being stuck in vines. The creeping plants covered the ground, constantly forcing the jonin to pull his legs free, which gave Naruto all the opportunity he needed.

The greatest advantage which Naruto held, however, was one new to him as well. Never before had he tested out his physical strength while using energy from nature. Not even Naruto had anticipated that it would strengthen him to this degree. Asuma's hits barely hurt, while Naruto's fists left the jonin grimacing in pain.

"Suiton: Mizuame Nabara (Water release: Field of molasses)."

' _Syrup?'_ Naruto frowned. The incoming club wasn't even worrying him. If these two new opponents thought they could catch him this easily, they were severely underestimating him. Sidestepping, Naruto roughly hit the spiky-haired opponent in the face with the back of his hand. Naruto felt the man's nose break.

"Kotetsu!"

' _I wonder why I hesitated. Was my resolve this fragile?'_ Naruto pondered. ' _I will have to do more things which I don't like. But if I don't act, the wars will just continue like always. I have strength, so I carry a responsibility: not towards myself, but to Aji-chan. I promised her that we'd be together once Akatsuki was done… these people stand between me and Aji-chan. Even if I become a monster, if it is for Aji-chan I will do it.'_

No more pity. No more hesitation. They had gotten their chance. Roots enveloped this 'Kotetsu', crushing the man's torso in the process.

"Wait, Izumo, don't-" Asuma tried to stop the other chunin, but the young man was too angry: an anger that led to his own undoing.

"Vengeance, can't you see this is what fuels all wars?" Naruto grunted, pulling his hand from Izumo's chest. The shocked expression on the man's face stilled, and after a few more spasms his body would remain motionless forever. "At least the jonin seems to be aware that those alive are more important than those who have already perished…"

With as much disgust as despair, Asuma rushed towards his team. Namiashi Raido and Yamashiro Aoba had backed up Shikamaru, Ino, and the still groggy Choji. "We need to go!" the jonin growled, putting the majority of his reserves in a fire attack which surprised the dragon, as the jonin came from its back.

"Mokuton: Tsutaurushi (Wood Release: Poison Ivy)."

The soil got covered with flowering plants, which made Ino, who was touched by it first, scream out in pain. The skin on her leg seemed to be burning red, and her movements faltered. She would have fallen if not for Asuma. Her short skirt was truly a bad choice of clothing against this form of attack.

"Go," Aoba shouted. "We'll hold him off. You four should get out. We'll catch up soon enough."

"Foolish," Naruto jumped down. "You're all within my forest. Did it honestly not occur to you that I was simply holding back? Whatever attachments you had to me, it would seem they vanished along with my memories."

"Memories?" Shikamaru gasped. "N-Naruto? No, that can't be-"

"Mokuton: Kajukai Korin (Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees)."

The trees which Naruto had created earlier grew flowers, flowers which bloomed and spread pollen into the atmosphere. Jonin, tokubetsu jonin, and chunin, they all fell to the poisonous mist. Breathing in the pollen, they quickly fell. Asuma struggled with all his willpower to stay awake, but it was useless. Naruto was too strong.

"This only puts them all to sleep," Naruto drawled. "But be happy. None of the others hold bounties. They will wake up in a few hours, unharmed. Well, the girl might have some difficulties with that poison ivy, but if they hurry back to Konoha after waking up, she should be able to live."

"Monsters…"

"Good or evil is merely a matter of perspective, Asuma-san. Your death will fund the…" Naruto suddenly scowled. Kakuzu jumped down at his side, still carrying the suitcase that contained the bounty on Chiriku's head, also scowling. "Dammit, why does it have to be now?"

"Stop it," Kakuzu grumbled.

"Three freaking days," Naruto sighed. "Then again, Kisame was rather pissed off when we were first to get a target."

"I'm not going to hand over my prized bounty this easily. We'll have to return to these guys later on."

The jinchuriki of the Yonbi was captured. All members had to meet at the call of Pein, aiding in the sealing. It meant Kakuzu and Naruto would have to hurry and find a safe place to stay for the time being. Asuma did not know any of this, though. He just saw the two Akatsuki retreat, one of them being a former genin he had known pretty well due to the boy's relation to Ino. He wondered why they retreated so suddenly, and then the pollen put him to a deep sleep.

* * *

The knocking continued. Ajisai turned around, dragging the blanket over her ears, pushing her head into her pillow, and still the annoying sound persisted. Annoyed, she dragged herself out of bed. It still smelled of Naruto, and she would rather have dreamt on about him than wake up. Sealing techniques were awesome; her entire apartment looked different with the new furniture. It still was small, but at least it was cozy now.

Ajisai quickly slipped on her clothes, and found herself greeted by the sight of her two teammates when she opened the door.

"Ajisai," Fuyo tapped her feet on her ground, obviously impatient. "You were late. What were you doing?" Fuyo was as old as Ajisai was, a kunoichi with long black hair that covered the entire left side of her face. Her purple eyes were always half open, giving her a somewhat bored expression. She wore a violet long-sleeved dress with purple pants and shinobi sandals. In addition to her outfit, she had a light violet sash draped over her right shoulder and a yellow choker. Over her shoulder hung her usual umbrella, Fuyo being one of the many who used it as a senbon launcher.

"We were supposed to meet up this morning," Suiren agreed, equally annoyed, although in a calmer tone of voice. Suiren was always the more level-headed of the two. Suiren had long,wild, dark green hair. The top of her head was covered under a cloth which she wore in a bandanna style, to which her hitai-ate was attached. Most of her slim face was hidden, if not by the hair or the bandanna, then by the black mask which covered her lower face.

What caused her to have such scars was something even Fuyo and Ajisai didn't know, but they did not prod either. Those burns were not natural, and Ajisai wasn't exactly willing to talk about her own past prior to joining the reformed Amegakure either. She had only trusted Naruto enough to tell what happened.

Suiren had quite the talent at suiton jutsu, and much like Fuyo, she also had talent as a sensor. Suiren wore the same light purple poncho as usual, on top of a violet kimono with a brown orange sash, and bandages around her arms and hands. Her light-purple colored eyes usually observed the world calmly, with the sole exception being when consuming alcohol. Suiren was extremely bad at dealing with intoxicating beverages.

"So-sorry, I forgot," Ajisai yawned. "Come in. I've got to gather my supplies first."

"Wow," Fuyo exclaimed upon seeing how the sober apartment had changed. "How did you pull this off?"

"Furniture aside, what is with that ring?" Suiren narrowed her eyes. "What happened to you, Ajisai?"

"Er… I got claimed?" she smiled weakly.

"What!?" both kunoichi replied furiously.

"No, not _him_ ," Ajisai assured them. Fuyo and Suiren knew of the jonin who had been annoying Ajisai for a while. "Me and N… Kunomori-kun," she stuttered slightly. She wasn't feeling too comfortable under the glares of her teammates either.

"He is strong," Fuyo knew. The trio had sparred against him on several occasions, when he had wanted to try out skills he had thought up. Fuyo, in particular, did not have fond memories of that. She was the first one to fall to his poison ivy; although he had personally removed the toxins, it had still itched like hell. "But is his claim something _you_ want, Ajisai? We'll help you kill him if he took you against your will, and…!"

"Please don't," Ajisai smiled. "To be honest, it is more like I claimed him, than the other way around. Kunomori-kun is too gentle to act so aggressively. But I told you this as friends, make sure you keep it to yourselves. I trust you, but Kunomori-kun is powerful, so he will attract enemies: enemies that might target me, or even you, because of him."

"He has the same cloak as Pein-sama," Suiren agreed. "But I agree with Fuyo: if he does anything wrong to you, he'll die. Powerful or not, we made a promise."

"We did," Ajisai still smiled. "To protect each other from the men who'd still think the old ways were good. But Kunomori-kun is different from the men in Ame. Better! But you don't need to protect me from him or his reputation."

"It would seem he has changed quite a bit over these past few months," Suiren frowned. "He was so cold and distant at first. He acted nice enough, but that was only a façade."

"That bastard would kill anyone without blinking an eye," Fuyo muttered. "But it's not like he was cruel or anything, but just… aimless."

"Perhaps that is why they ended up together," Suiren wondered out loud. "Ajisai needed something to live for as well."

"You make it sound like I was completely depressing," Ajisai felt a little hurt by the accusation. Sure, with the things she'd been through, she knew she wasn't exactly a cheerful little ray of sunshine, but she couldn't have been that bad, right? She idolized Konan, and shared their goal of ending the wars that tormented Amegakure. "I did have something to live for, even before I met Kunomori-kun."

"As a kunoichi, perhaps, but not as a woman."

"That's a bit harsh, Suiren…"

"She is, but she's right," Fuyo huffed. "How many years have we been working together? I think I can count the number of times I've seen you smile on two hands."

"Life isn't only about duty and logic," Suiren agreed. "Although we do have a duty. Remember that we were supposed to report in so that Tenshi-sama could give us our next mission? You were missing during that."

"I forgot," Ajisai gasped. She slapped herself to the forehead. ' _I really messed up. Ugh, those dreams I keep having since I slept with him, it's only getting worse the longer he's gone. It almost felt real.'_

"Lovesick," Fuyo pointed at Ajisai, earning her a glare, but Suiren uncharacteristically giggled at the sight. "First Ajisai is in love, and now you're acting all girly? What is wrong with this world?"

"Oh, can it," Suiren playfully slapped Fuyo on her head. "But now, the remark of Tenshi-sama makes sense. With Ajisai connected to Kunomori-san, giving her low-profile missions would be best."

"Low-profile missions?"

"We are assigned to border patrol duty, on the northeastern border," Fuyo repeated what Konan had told them. "Nothing ever happens in the region, it isn't really a border to Hi no Kuni nor Kusa, so… well, it is no man's land."

"Tenshi-sama knows," Ajisai cringed a little at the memory of her waking up at Naruto's side while Konan stood there next to them. It was not the way she wanted to be seen by her idol. But at least she and Naruto hadn't gone _that_ far yet, at that point. ' _It would seem like Naruto-kun actually threatened her, in case something would happen to me… he's crazy! Is he really willing to defy a god, just for me?'_ The thought alone made her heart jump around like a chipmunk on coffee. The idea that he valued someone like her to such a degree was hard to understand for Ajisai.

"-looooo, earth to Ajisai?" Fuyo was waving her hand in front of the purple haired girl.

"Eh, sorry," she mumbled. "I kinda spaced out."

Fuyo huffed and walked on. Suiren shrugged and followed. Once outside the tower, which contained, among many others, Ajisai's apartment, Ajisai suddenly grew worried. If they were out in the field for so long, what if…

"Those birth control jutsu are reliable, right?"

"WHAT?!" it was the first time Ajisai heard Suiren shriek. Usually Fuyo took that role. But Fuyo had tripped over her own feet, falling face-down into the mud, so she couldn't scream. Ajisai absentmindedly noted that Suiren currently looked a lot like a strawberry, with her green hair and bright red blush.

* * *

Even high up the tower, the green-haired girl's shriek was audible. The only effect it had was that Konan's brow was raised another millimeter. The banter of the three teenage kunoichi had not gone as unnoticed as the girls had thought.

"You have given them a different mission."

If it had been any other matter, Konan would have felt a tinge of guilt for acting against Nagato's plans. But this case was different. At least, to her it was. "Yes."

"Why?"

"I already told you," Konan turned towards the animated corpse of her former lover, Pein's preferred path. "I cannot find it in myself to agree with your plans regarding that girl." Using Ajisai to bind Kunomori, out of the love these two felt for each other, was something she could not agree with. Mokuton or not, Konan felt her heart ache at the thought that she'd see them being manipulated, just like Yahiko ended up dying all those years ago. As such, even though she rarely did so, Konan disagreed with Nagato.

"You are too lenient towards the girl. To give her a mission out there…" Pein's monotonous voice withered for a moment, seemingly thinking. "There is nothing there. Nothing has happened in the last three years in that area. You sent here there to protect her. Do you disagree that strongly?"

"Do you think Ajisai and Kunomori are ignorant, Nagato? Do you think they are not aware their relationship could be used against them?" Konan let a small amount of her cold fury leak into her voice. "Kunomori is capable on his own, but Ajisai is merely a chunin. And despite everything that surrounds him, she accepted him. Despite the odds, she loves him." And judging by the way Kunomori threatened her, Konan realized that he was as protective of Ajisai as Yahiko had once been when it involved her.

"Love will not end pain. Love will not end wars. Love will not protect anyone. Only-"

"Nagato, is it so wrong to believe in love, rather than only seeing pain?" Konan countered. "Why else are we doing all this, if not for the love we feel for those we have lost?" She knew Nagato's plan was the only viable solution, as the human race was too violent and immature to listen to anything but excessive violence. But it didn't mean that Konan could ignore the small things that made life worthwhile.

When she looked at Ajisai, the once so-solemn girl who now seemed so filled with hope, Konan saw her younger self, when she and Yahiko had just gotten together. It hurt, to see Ajisai like that, as it remembered Konan of the happy times which had ended in tragedy. But at the same time, seeing this young love from a distance made her feel a relief and joy which confused her.

' _Nagato wouldn't understand. He only sees pain. Pain blinds him from seeing everything that is the opposite. Nagato never loved like I did. Pein was born in suffering, and at times I fear that the identity of Pein replaced Nagato,'_ she thought solemnly. ' _Regardless, he is all that I have left. Everyone else died, and those responsible must pay the price… but not at the expense of these young lovers. Not if I can help it.'_

* * *

 **Bonus: Red Hot-Blooded Habanero**

* * *

"Ajiiisaiiii," one of the two girls that had entered the little forest called out.

"Suiren," Fuyo tried to hush her friend, to no avail.

"What?"

"Don't shout like that!"

"You know that you're not very convincing when you're saying it while raising your voice, right?" Suiren couldn't help but retort dryly.

"That isn't the point," Fuyo hissed through the hands she clasped in front of her own mouth. "We shouldn't be here."

"Why not? Ajisai said we could come here anytime we want," Suiren shrugged, not seeing her black haired friend's point.

"She did, but that's not what worries me."

"Him?"

"Him," Fuyo admitted reluctantly. "You've not forgotten that poison ivy thing, have you?"

"How could I forget it?" Suiren donned a faint smile, even though she tried to repress her amusement. Fuyo had complained about her itching legs for days. It had been the reason why Suiren had been forced to convince Fuyo to enter these training grounds again.

"He's insane!"

"You're shouting again," Suiren sighed. "And he's not. He healed you, didn't he?"

Fuyo grimaced, but chose to remain silent. Kunomori of Akatsuki would not be her favorite person in the world. It worried her that their friend had been tasked with looking after him. His crazy experiments with new jutsu would undoubtedly put Ajisai in danger. That was the angle through which Suiren had eventually managed to convince Fuyo to come along.

Both of them being sensor-type kunoichi, they both were very well aware of how monstrous of a shinobi this Kunomori was. Aside from the two leaders of Amegakure, Kami and his angel, there was no one whom they had ever seen to possess such insane levels of chakra.

While he was a bit distant, Suiren didn't see much of a problem in Kunomori. He was surprisingly kind for someone of his level. And the way he hid the bottom half of his face made her wonder what he would look like. She idly fancied the thought of him being a hottie. They both wore masks, so they were a perfect match, right?

Fuyo was more hostile in her opinion. Being poisoned by him, she didn't quickly forgive or forget his transgressions. Of the three, she was the fiercest during their spars against him, the most eager to make him pay. And she was also the one which took her unavoidable defeat the hardest. What vexed her even more was that she, deep down, understood why Ajisai admired the guy so much- his powers were nothing short of miraculous. Sprouting forests at a whim, creating dragons, and the list went on. What he did wasn't normal. What he did wasn't fitting for a normal mortal man.

"Ajiiisaiii."

"Ugh," Fuyo wanted to slap her friend.

"Don't you agree that it's better for him to know that we're walking through this forest, than to fall victim to one of his shenanigans because he didn't know we were close?" Suiren shook her head in exasperation when Fuyo suddenly started shouting for Ajisai.

* * *

Ajisai, however, did not hear her friends approaching. She was preoccupied, watching Kunomori as he conducted another experiment.

* * *

They marveled at the sight of the unusual plant. About 120 centimeters high, it wasn't so much that it deviated from the rest of the foliage, if not for the white green-colored flowers. As they watched, they saw the flowers bloom and sprout its green fruit. Green turned yellow, which led to orange, red, and eventually a brown-ish kind of color.

In hindsight, neither of the girls understood why they weren't running away at that point. Then again, many things that go wrong are horribly easy to avoid. In hindsight, at least.

Right now, they were just stupidly ogling the plant's accelerated growth process. Until the fruit shriveled and exploded, at least. At that point they weren't able to see anything anymore. Their eyes were burning as if someone poured napalm over them. Not even mentioning their noses and mouths.

* * *

While Ajisai was helping her friend to wash out their eyes, Naruto walked through the clearing. A mild Futon jutsu had removed the airborne peppers. It turned out that using his chakra to grow the seeds of the Habanero pepper was a mild success.

He had no idea as to how the fruits had exploded and created such a 'hot' mist, though he figured he would have to keep a few habanero seeds in his packings, in case he'd ever need to defeat at Hyuga. Inducing temporary blindness in such a way would make such a battle quite a bit easier.

"Now I only need to figure out a fitting name," Naruto mumbled to himself, idly dodging the badly thrown kunai (Fuyo was still mostly blind). "Akai Chishio no Habanero sounds fitting, for some reason."

* * *

Somewhere in the afterlife a certain woman was suddenly feeling very, very proud of her son.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

And then a dark version of Naruto pops up? What are the odds…

How do you like my take on Konan? I find it somewhat annoying that she's usually depicted as Nagato's mindless sidekick, devoid of emotions or personal opinions. This sort of disagreement isn't something I've often encountered. Instead, I saw the love from Ajisai as a perfect opportunity for a fundamental difference in opinions between Konan, who sees her old self in the girl, and Nagato, who is only interested in achieving his goals. With Konan taking the initiative, Ajisai is at least not in Nagato's grasp. A wise decision, right?

As always, I thank my noble beta **Illuminated** for his hard work. And for his idea of weaponizing the Habanero pepper- an idea which led to the bonus part. I also thank all you who leave **reviews**!

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	8. Monolith

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Eight**

 **Monolith**

* * *

" _A man does what he must - in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers and pressures - and that is the basis of all human morality."_

― Winston S. Churchill

* * *

"How is she, Tsunade-sama?"

"Ino will survive," the Hokage sighed as she settled down behind her desk. "If you had returned any later, she could have lost that leg. I haven't seen a poison as potent as that in many years."

"Thank you…"

"I just did what I'm here for, Asuma. Now, tell me what happened. I heard about Kotetsu and Izumo, but… how did it happen? Why did they die?"

"Kunomori," Shikamaru grunted. Ino was still asleep, and Choji was recovering from the multiple fractures he had suffered during the fight, but he was still relatively fine. Shikamaru hadn't been really injured, only exhausted. "We spotted him sitting outside the bounty station, waiting for his partner after bringing Chiriku in."

"I thought I told you not to recklessly engage Akatsuki," Tsunade frowned, obviously displeased.

"We messed up," Asuma lied. Truthfully, it was Ino who had blurted out Naruto's name upon seeing the blond boy, but he wasn't going to rat her out. They had failed as a team, so they would share the blame equally as well. "I thought we could do it. We got very close as well. But his mokuton… I've never felt a power like that ever before."

"How did they copy my grandfather's kekkei genkai like that?"

"Tsunade-sama, I doubt it was a copy. It was something… I don't know, I have never seen the power of Shodai-sama in person, but I can't believe he would have given off such a sinister aura. Tenzo is nothing in comparison. Shikamaru managed to trap him, giving Ino the opportunity to use her Shintenshin no Justu."

"That is when the other man, Kakuzu, showed up," Shikamaru continued, backing up his taicho and sensei. "Kunomori somehow broke Ino's jutsu, and got angry. I don't know why Kakuzu retreated, though."

"Kakuzu said that Kunomori alone would be sufficient to defeat the four of us. Well, three at that point, because Choji was knocked unconscious. Kakuzu could have taken me down, with more ease than I'd like to admit, giving Kunomori the perfect opportunity to kill Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji. Well, not that he needed to be given an advantage- even if all the squads that had set out to find Chiriku had joined together, we still would barely have had a chance of killing Kunomori. The fact that worries me most is that I can't even say how much he held back on us."

"He was toying with us," Shikamaru agreed. "In hindsight, it would even seem that he left us plenty of opportunities to back away from the battle. We should've done that…"

"I see… it would seem that this makes it inevitable."

"Tsunade-sama?"

She gestured to her Anbu guard to get lost, before she would continue to talk freely. "After what happened in Suna and Kiri, we had been approached by the recently-instated Godaime Mizukage, requesting a Kage Summit."

"A Kage Summit?" Asuma gasped. "Of all five nations? That is impossible!"

"No, it is not. From what Jiraiya reported, it would seem that Kumogakure has already lost the Nibi, and increased security on the Hachibi rigorously. It is unknown what happened in Iwa, but rumor has it that the jinchuriki of the Yonbi can't be found anywhere. If the five villages are ever to get a chance to unite against a common threat, it would be now."

"So it affects everyone," Shikamaru grimaced. "Everyone except us, that is."

"You are wrong, Shikamaru," Asuma muttered. "We were dragged into this before any of the other villages."

"Asuma… don't tell me that what Ino said…" Tsunade abruptly stood up from her chair, putting her hands on the desk with such force that the wood creaked. "I thought it was fever playing tricks on her mind. Don't tell me that she's right?!"

"Kunomori is someone who lost his memories, who knows he is from Konoha, and who stated that he was surprised that we knew both names he was known under," Asuma cringed when Tsunade grabbed him by the collar. "Ino called out to Naruto, and I nearly succeeded in exploiting the moment he needed to recover from the surprise. At the last moment, shortly before they somehow were forced to retreat, he even assured me that nothing would happen to the others, because he had only fought us because of my bounty."

"He said that?" Shikamaru couldn't suppress his skepticism. "Sensei, how can that guy be Naruto? We all know how he and Ino were. There's no way _Naruto_ would put Ino into the hospital with such poisons. And Naruto never had such a kekkei genkei either! Hell, even his chakra was different from the old Naruto."

"I don't know what happened," Asuma ignored Shikamaru's outburst, seeing the blonde who seemed to be ready to choke the life out of him as a more urgent threat. "But Kunomori did state that he lost his memories. I couldn't sense any of the Kyuubi's chakra, though. But who knows what they did to him. Perhaps they extracted the Kyuubi, and he somehow survived, but lost his memories? We have to ask Ino what she saw in his mind…"

Tsunade let go of the jonin's collar and turned away. Facing the window, the only thing she did was shout "out" and the two males knew enough. Their Hokage needed to be left alone now, both for her sake and theirs.

It was not that Tsunade wished to hurt anyone. She just didn't want anyone to see her break down. Still, it took all of her self-control to wait until the door of her office was closed. Only then did she allow herself to cry, unseen by the village that counted on her strength.

* * *

Naruto was beginning to get slightly annoyed by the long time it took to seal a bijuu away. The first four were done now, so there were still five to go. ' _Fifteen more days of this crap,'_ Naruto groused inwardly. But it had to be done- leaving the world as it is was not an option to him, having seen enough of the ugly side of the current system of the hidden villages.

' _Konoha, Suna, Iwa… they're all the same. They claim to desire peace, but in the meanwhile they abuse the tiny nations that lie in between, to wage their petty conflicts. If they truly wanted peace, they would not seek out conflict. Just like those Konoha nin before; they could've escaped, I gave them plenty of opportunities, but instead they chose to attack me. Why? Why would they insist on violence when there was a peaceful option?'_

Pein was right. The world wouldn't change willingly. It had to be forced to change. Those in power profited from the conflict, and wouldn't want it to end. The shinobi villages only got their funding from their Daimyos if there was fear of the other nations. A peaceful world would collapse the economy of the hidden villages. Without their services being in demand, without conflicts to hone their skills, they would grow weak and obsolete. It wasn't in the best interest of a hidden village to relinquish all conflict. Besides, with all the grudges, no peace would ever last.

' _Even someone like Pein would be incapable of living in a world of peace. His hatred is too strong to peacefully live alongside those who caused him and his nation to suffer. But the lack of a reasonable alternative to his plan is just frustrating.'_

Naruto idly looked around at the environment they were rushing through. Kakuzu had gone even more silent than usual, and his eyes had a glint of madness which Naruto had rarely seen. Then again, they were heading towards his former home village.

' _It'll probably end up with more death, more unnecessary violence. How are we to change the world if we do exactly the same thing as those who we condemn?'_ Naruto spat on the ground, frustrated. ' _I wish I could avoid all this shit. But I know I can't. I have to take my responsibility now, so that Aji-chan has a world of peace after this. Even if it is just a temporary peace, we, and even our children, should be able to enjoy it. Perhaps our children or our grandchildren can find a way to bring peace, and succeed where we failed?'_

They were dreams of the future. Naruto suspected that he was the only one within Akatsuki who truly looked forward to a better future; this had been Ajisai's gift to him. Some, like Pein and Konan, only seemed to aim for vengeance. None really knew what Zetsu wanted, but others, like Kisame, Kakuzu, and Hidan, just wanted violence. Sasori wished to prove his art, and to be eternal; that creepy Orochimaru wanted to gather knowledge and amass all jutsu into one of his bodies. Naruto really thought that man was wrong, but while both were part of Akatsuki, he couldn't act against him. Naruto did think Guren made a grave mistake with her loyalty. He really could not understand why she trusted that snake so much.

"Build a cabin. We're taking a break. We'll attack Takigakure in the morning," Kakuzu grunted. Naruto shrugged and did as asked. Well, Kakuzu did not ask, but rather 'commanded', but Naruto was used to it. The building he created had two rooms: one for Kakuzu, one for Naruto. As Kakuzu would notice anyone who'd get too close, Naruto was never too bothered with putting up barriers (which he could do now, thanks to the sealing tags which Ajisai had given him).

He unsealed some food, one of Ajisai's onigiri, and drank some water. Feeling content, Naruto unsealed a blanket and lay down in the moss-filled bed. It was soft and warm, and best of all, the blanket still smelled of Ajisai. ' _I really got to seek out the guy who wrote those Icha Icha novels. The man_ _'_ _s a genius._ _'_

On the other hand, perhaps it wasn't too smart to use a blanket which still smelled of his girlfriend and lover. Not that he minded those dreams, but they did tend to leave him waking up rather tired- and messy.

* * *

In the other room, Kakuzu found himself to be unable to sleep. The idea of returning to Takigakure had crossed his mind several times. Why he had never exacted his revenge earlier was something he could not say. It was probably because there was no profit in it. At least, there was no profit that outweighed the cost of attacking an entire village. Minor village or not, engaging the entire forces of Taki would be a task which would likely cost him a heart or two, perhaps even three. But that was under the assumption of having to launch an attack on his own. With Naruto at his side, however…

How many years had passed since he had abandoned the village that had forsaken him? How many years had it been since he had been sent out to assassinate the indomitable Hashirama, the Shodai Hokage, whose presence alone had forced all conflicts too end?

Takigakure had not wanted peace. The way Hashirama stood in the way of future conflicts meant for Takigakure that the village would not get opportunities to expand its power. The leadership wanted to be as strong and influential as the five strongest villages, and for that they needed conflict- conflict that would enable them to expand their territories into the Land of Earth, but also into the grounds of Kusagakure. That was why they sent Kakuzu, their best and most loyal, to do the job. The future of Taki had been tied to his success, that was what they had told him.

In hindsight, it was rather obvious that Kakuzu would fail. Perhaps the foolish council of Taki had never understood the power of Hashirama, or perhaps they had intended to get rid of Kakuzu from the very start, fearing his power. He couldn't say. The fact remained that he failed, that Takigakure had been highly embarrassed, and that Kakuzu had been sacrificed. Wounded, he had returned, helpless to resist arrest, and was thrown into jail until Takigakure could turn over their 'traitor' to Konoha. Who could blame Kakuzu for losing all trust and loyalty? He stole their kinjutsu, slaughtered the council, and never set foot in Taki again.

Yes, he kept tabs on his old village. For instance, he knew that his elder brother's grandson had been in charge of the village until his death, several years ago. Kakuzu did not know who succeeded him, whether it was his (rumored) incapable son, or the council of elders. Kakuzu did not care. They all bore the sins of their ancestors.

They would pay for their sins tomorrow. Kakuzu could not care less about their jinchuriki. Naruto could catch the girl. Isolated and hated, that girl was not someone he disliked. She probably hated Taki just as much as he did, which would put her on the good side of Kakuzu's equation. However, Akatsuki needed the Nanabi. It was unfortunate for her, but such was her fate. The citizens would likely only receive her death with cheer. Perhaps there were one or two within the military of Taki who would be sane enough to realize the significance of their loss, but they would be a minority.

Sanity was always outnumbered by ignorance.

Patience had never been a virtue that Kakuzu possessed in abundance, but this night really lasted torturously long. It was an hour before sunrise when he was fed up with it. It was rather annoying: the brat had always woke up in the middle of night, haunted by nightmare of which the boy did not know the origins, but ever since his stay in Amegakure he could sleep like a log.

"Wake up brat, we'll leave in twenty."

* * *

Kicking a beehive- that was pretty much the only analogy that crossed Naruto's mind right now. The two had made their plan of attack, with Naruto going after the jinchuriki and Kakuzu 'causing a distraction', but after just barging into the village they had been surrounded by quite a number of shinobi. Prepared for battle, Naruto was already filled to the brim with chakra. He had taken as much energy from nature as he possibly could, giving him the usual invincible feeling. It was not that Naruto was arrogant, but rather… in this state he became aware of how insignificant most others were, compared to his power. This entire village only had a handful of shinobi that would qualify as proper jonin, while he knew that even double their numbers would fail against him now.

That didn't even include Kakuzu; Naruto wondered what had gotten into the old man. Kakuzu was more homicidal than Naruto had ever seen before, including during their training sessions. He had never gotten into the specifics about Kakuzu's defection, but it seemed like he had one hell of a grudge against his old village. That much had been obvious to Naruto the very moment when Kakuzu had made him the one who'd have to capture the jinchuriki. Kakuzu never acted as a distraction. No, the jinchuriki wasn't Kakuzu's main goal this time. Naruto going after the jinchuriki, instead, Kakuzu was the distraction.

"Well, you wanted the village, so they're all yours," Naruto looked at his partner. "I could make you a dragon in order to smash things up a little."

"Y-you're Akatsuki," stammered one of the elder shinobi, one of the few jonin. Apparently, he was the senior shinobi out here, being the one in charge of this… Well, Naruto was not willing to call this feeble group of trembling men a line of defense.

"How observant," Kakuzu drawled.

"If… we heard you people are after the jinchuriki."

"You are wasting his time," Naruto warned. "That's usually a bad plan when it comes to Kakuzu."

The response to the name almost was funny. The group, already terrified by these two overwhelmingly strong opponents, was now practically frozen in terror. Their boogeyman, their demon of Taki's dark past, had returned to haunt them. Parents had scared their children with stories of Taki's most dangerous traitor – those who wrote history were seldom unbiased – who had murdered many innocent men, women, and children, just to satisfy his lust for blood.

"If y-you are a-after o-our j-jinchuriki, you can h' have her," the 'leader' stuttered. His face had gone pale.

"You're willing to sell her out?" Naruto said disbelievingly. "You'd rather give up one of your own, than fight side by side? Disgusting… you hidden villages really don't deserve anything, do you?"

"She's not one of us!" someone within the group shouted. "That bitch is a demon!"

"Yeah, we're not going to take the fall for someone like that!"

"Just take her away, Akatsuki. Take her and leave us alone!"

"Yeah, let that traitor join the other traitor!"

These people, in their fear or ignorance, never realized that what they did, what they said, was exactly the wrong thing. Being betrayed by the village, as reward for attempting to do the impossible mission they issued him, Kakuzu already had a grudge against Takigakure. These remarks were like throwing salt in the man's wounds.

Needless to say, the gathered shinobi did not live on for much longer. Their selfish pleas had been their undoing.

Naruto let him go. Not that he liked it, but cooperation with Kakuzu was still a necessity. Killing Kakuzu was something he'd do later on. The training methods which the old man had used were still something Naruto wanted to repay him for, with interest. But, while Akatsuki needed Kakuzu, Naruto could not act. He could not afford to antagonize Pein while Ajisai was living in Amegakure.

' _This would be so much easier if I had been as emotionless and unattached as Zetsu and Kakuzu told me to be. Well, I pretty much was that way. And then Aji-chan happened. I can't say it is making my current job much easier, though. Hunting targets without giving a damn is definitely easier. On the other hand, now I have purpose. Now I have a reason why I act,'_ Naruto mused, while idly watching how Kakuzu and his thread-like monsters tore through the ranks. One or two idiots were stupid enough to mistake Naruto's lack of action for weakness, but none of them lasted very long.

"These guys build a village around the largest tree I've ever seen, and then look surprised when its roots impale them," Naruto muttered. He started moving. He had seen a pair of orange eyes. Those eyes had been wide open, shocked, when the shinobi had exclaimed that they could take the jinchuriki away freely. Naruto had felt her chakra from the very start.

Mastery of the Shunshin no jutsu was truly the bread-and-butter of a shinobi's job. "Hello, Fu." Naruto's mastery exceeded that of the poor jinchuriki.

"Rinpun (Scale Powder)," she breathed out a cloud of powder, probably meant to attack him. One chakra-enhanced sigh later, and the powder was unable to reach Naruto, scattered to the winds.

"I granted you some time to at least witness the end of the fools who were willing to sell you out," Naruto muttered. "And still you attack me?"

"What do you want from Fu?" Fu was pretty much everything that Zetsu had reported. She was a petite, almost androgynous, tan-skinned kunoichi with orange eyes and mint-green hair, a little shorter than Naruto, and not wearing too many clothes- not that there was too much shape to show off.

"Akatsuki wants the bijuu that's sealed within you. I'm sorry, it's nothing personal, but I'll have to capture you."

"Why? Haven't you people done enough bad to Fu already?!"

"The whole world is suffering," Naruto sighed, "You, me, everyone… but the bijuu can pave the way to peace. To end all the unnecessary bloodshed, to free all humans from this endless cycle of violence, that is why I have to capture you."

"Fu would rather live!" Naruto frowned when she flipped him off, spouted wings, and flew up.

"The ability to fly. Interesting. But futile." All trees were under his command. This large tree was no exception. It was towering over the village, acting almost as a roof, making the ability to fly quite futile. "Good thing Zetsu already did his research," Naruto mumbled to himself. "It would be hell to track her down if she got away."

"Let Fu go!" she shouted, struggling against the wooden appendage that had caught her mid-air.

"As you wish," he crudely threw her down, making enough of an impact to leave an imprint of the girl into the ground. Naruto took no pleasure in it, but she had to be bound. Transporting her while she was unconscious would be easier, especially for his conscience.

' _My conscience. I'm a coward. As if it is any less worse what I do, if I don't get to know the girl. Am I that scared to discover she's not a bad person, but that I'm bad? I already know that what I do is unforgivable… but I don't do it for myself anymore. If my actions can bring peace, if they can give Aji-chan a peaceful world, I have to do it.'_

However, she did not go down as easily as he had hoped. Her chakra spiked, forcing him to create more and more roots to hold her down.

"This isn't going to work. Fine. Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique)."

It was unfair, actually. Naruto's ability to suppress a bijuu's chakra, through the wood dragon, and Fu's lack of proper training, made the battle completely one-sided, and short. Sapped of her chakra, Fu eventually stopped struggling. Stuck between the jaws of the dragon, Naruto thought it to be best to keep her there. Minor injuries wouldn't be a problem, and the dragon wouldn't try to kill her. Naruto had ordered the creature to incapacitate, but to let her survive.

Was that the extent of the battle between the two? No… no, defeating her was where his trouble began. A splitting headache forced him down to his knees, and then all went black.

* * *

" **Welcome back. That chakra was a good trigger…** "

Naruto blinked, still feeling like his head was about to explode. There was a smell of flowers and forest, moss and decaying wood. He blinked once more, and finally his vision started to get less blurry. Pushing himself from the ground, he found himself back in the odd forest in which he had been once before. Last time, that blonde girl had been there, invading his mind. But he had thought that it was a genjutsu, that she tricked him, something which had infuriated him.

However, Yamanaka Ino wasn't here, not outside his mind, and not inside; nor any other Yamanaka, for that matter. But the shadowy copy of himself was there, as ethereal as it was the last time, It's black and red eyes were filled with a rage that seemed to be aimed at everything in the world.

"So, you really aren't an illusion," Naruto frowned. ' _That would mean the Yamanaka girl was honest, and I falsely accused her… oh well, that jonin should've gotten her back to Konoha in time to fix that poison. Next time I meet her, I'll let her live, perhaps even apologize.'_

" **I told you that, moron.** "

"Sure you would, but why would I trust you?"

" **A sensible choice, unlike many others you made.** "

"Cut the crap, what the hell are you? If this is my mind, why are you here?"

" **I thought I told you that already** ," the shadowy Naruto drawled. " **I am who you once were. I am the true you, Uzumaki Naruto.** "

"…Uzumaki?" Naruto frowned. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto?"

" **Perhaps** ," the shadow laughed mockingly. " **But the being you are now does not have the right to carry that name,** _ **Kunomori**_ **. So consider it our little secret. Not that you would trust Zetsu and Kakuzu with that tidbit of knowledge. After all, they should know your name too, but chose to leave you in the dark. But tell me, do you feel proud that you captured that girl? Shunned and hated her entire life, just because she carries the burden they put on her themselves. She led a life of loneliness and pain, and then you bravely swooped in… condemning her to death. Is that the extent of your heroism?** "

"If you are truly me, you should know that heroism is for fools. How many heroes are there?" Naruto scoffed. "How many fight in each battle? A weak man who overcomes his fears and confronts a stronger opponent could be called a hero. But what does a hero achieve? Does a hero change the world? How far did heroism bring you, old me? You perished and became me, only because Zetsu took an interest in me. And who knows what he is scheming."

" **You know nothing, Uzumaki Naruto.** "

"I know the vile nature of mankind," Naruto retorted. "As much as you, if I judge you by the look in your eyes. But I'm tired of it. I was prepared for war, but all my victims so far only wanted to live. How many bounties did I collect of people who were merely trying to escape the system of the hidden villages?"

" **Yes, what you are doing now is definitely a lot better. Furthering the plans of Akatsuki, unleashing a war that could end all wars. You don't even see the extent of your own foolishness!** "

"If that is the price of peace, then it should be paid. Continuing this downward spiral will only bring more suffering, more death. People like Ajisai, her friends, or even Pein and Konan themselves… they were created by these circumstances, just like I was created by your death."

" **My death? I never died, brat. I survived. But it is you who will perish.** "

"How?" Naruto scoffed. "Because Zetsu is scheming? Because Pein wants to manipulate me? I'll get stronger. I'll grow. And one day I can escape their shadow. One day they will stand in mine."

" **Foolish… that little bit of power will not change a thing** ," shadow-Naruto chuckled. " **Did Hashirama stop violence? No, he merely transformed the world. Rather than wars between clans you now wage wars between villages. The scale increased, the violence increased. You self-righteously create excuses for your wrongdoings, but in the end you are just the same as everyone else.** "

"Those caught in between the great nations suffer their power. Akatsuki will end that. And if they won't, I'll do it myself. I swore that Aji-chan would live in a world free of war; that we could enjoy a life of peace, where she could enjoy her days without being worried by the burdens of this fucked up world. For Aji-chan, I will end war and I will never allow it to continue in other forms, no matter what kind of monster I'll have to become."

" **Would that girl be happy without you?** " the shadow-Naruto seemed to fade. " **If your mad quest would not claim your life, it would claim your soul. How many more innocent people have to perish, like this green-haired girl will, before you complete your goal? What will be left of you? Nothing. You will fall. But you cannot die… no… break apart, crumble, but your essence remains. Fall into darkness, boy. That is where your heart waits, in the fade.** "

The shadow faded away completely, having lost what little power that fueled it. This damnable place left the shadow incapable of putting out more power. But, conflict would come. Soon, the boy would start to seek. Soon, he would find his origins- and upon finding his heart, he would fall.

* * *

"What the hell was that," Naruto muttered, finding himself kneeling on the ground. His wooden dragon had stood guard while he had been unconscious, curled around him, with Fu still between its jaws. ' _What would be left of me? Death? What the hell was that thing?'_

Trying to gauge how long he had been out of commission, Naruto extended his senses through the roots of the village's mighty tree. It appeared as if Kakuzu had gone on a wild rampage, killing Taki nin by the dozens. In all the confusion, none of the poorly trained shinobi knew how to react. The fools had completely relied on their concealment. They had never given it thought, made contingency plans, for when their village would be infiltrated. In their arrogance, they had thought none would find their way through the waterfall and the tunnels.

They now paid the price for their mistake.

' _They were ready to betray Fu, before we even executed a single attack. Cowardly backstabbers. Small wonder Kakuzu hated this village so much, it must not have changed much since he abandoned it…'_

Naruto looked up at his dragon. The creature's head bowed down, its eyes glowing yellow. It was answering Naruto's unspoken request. Somewhat shaky, Naruto climbed on top of the creature's head. ' _And now I'll need some time to focus. When I lost consciousness, I lost control over the power I gathered. This nature energy is quite slippery…'_

He closed his eyes and allowed his senses to slip into the immeasurable flow of natural energy. His mind being in turmoil made it difficult, however. The world moved at its own pace, disregarding any sense of urgency which the individual had. Naruto's rushing only led to him being lost in the flow of energy again. His sense of self disturbed by his doubts, he had lost himself once more. Just like when he was first pushed deeply into this ocean of energy, when Yagura had forced him into diving into it, he now also lost his connection to his earthly body.

The world of trees, plants, grass, molds, animals, insects… the world was a vast place. The energy that governed it all was equally vast. Although 'govern' would be a deceitful way to describe it. The energy was tied to nature, and nature tied to it. It controlled everything, yet controlled nothing. It was something that nourished and consumed life, maintaining the stunningly complex causal system which mankind labeled as 'nature'. The only way Naruto had been able to use it was a narrow balance between attachment and detachment. That was how he had been able to enter this nameless maze, and leave it without losing himself. Detachment from his life, attachment to that of others: love had been giving him guidance.

Heaven and earth are impartial. Nature, caught in between, is impartial. Yet, the human mind is filled with opinions, filled with distinctions. Only when Naruto dove into this ocean of power, only when he connected himself to these countless sensations, he felt his own limitations. These limitations of being an individual, his human mind imposed those limitations on the world, and yet nature remained indifferent. The world could not care less about good or evil. Living and dying was merely a cycle. But the human mind, the individual limitations, could not see beyond those borders. When submerged, Naruto saw a vague image of it, but outside of that he only saw himself.

He _knew_ it was true. He knew that he was foolish, but he could not stop himself. His heart, his emotions, they connected him to thing, bound him: to Ajisai, above all. Impartiality would demand an absence of love, as loving one being implied that it would be valued above others. Love inhibited true neutrality. Yet, despite knowing, Naruto could do nothing but accept that he was limited, that he was human, that he did indeed love others. This was what he was, something he had to accept.

When the world knows beauty as beauty, ugliness arises. When it knows good as good, evil arises. Thus being and non-being produced each other. Difficult and easy bring about each other. Long and short reveal each other. High and low support each other. Music and voice harmonize each other. Front and back follow each other.

Words. Definitions. Presumptions. He was spoon-fed with a dualistic view on the world. Good or evil. Yes or no. Peace or war. White or black. Yet nature showed a world filled with every color Naruto could think of, existing completely indifferent to whatever perception mankind had of it. This vast world from which he tried to draw energy, Naruto wondered why so few acknowledged it as the miracle it was, why so few could open themselves to the energy it offered.

' _But why does it cause me so much more trouble this time?'_

Was it due to the trust in his dragon that he, despite being in hostile territory, could abandon his body? Or was it the shadow-Naruto that made him doubt his resolve? What if he was right, what if he really did change due to all these bad things?

' _What is evil?'_

Was it evil that he took Fu from her home, leading her to her death? It seemed to him that it was. The girl seemed like a good person. The objective corner of his mind knew that it was necessity that drove him. The idealistic corner, on the other hand, told him that it was wrong. Was it that internal disagreement that had caused him to stray from the path he knew? Was that why he had delved too deep into this infinite source of energy?

' _What has changed since the last time?'_

Confronting the young jinchuriki had been more of a battle against himself, than it had been a battle against her. Fu was capable enough, sure, but a far cry from being powerful enough to pose a threat to Naruto. His abilities held an innate advantage over hers, and the geography of the battle grounds had only tipped the scales even further in his favor. Something about Taki's great tree was different from any tree Naruto had seen. Was it the tree that gave the water in the ground such power, or was it the water that gave the tree such power?

Drawn by the idea of what it was, Naruto's attention shifted to that specific tree. The ageless giant towered over all everything else, higher and mightier than any of its kin. It did not care, did not discriminate. It grew, it drank, it bathed in the light of the sun, its roots delved deeper and deeper into the earth. Season by season, it grew and lost its leaves, grew and lost its seed. It was calming, tranquil, for Naruto to sense such an entity. And yet… it was no different from the smallest of trees. Size, age, nothing mattered for its primal desires.

' _What are_ my _primal desires? To feed. To drink. To breathe. To reproduce? Is that what caused me to doubt?'_

For nearly all animals, reproduction required a mate. Naruto had found Ajisai. The girl had grown on him, and when least expected had found a way to pierce his defenses and enter his heart. She held his love, his thoughts, and was the one he could see himself grow old with. Perhaps it was naïve, but that was how he felt: too in love to see beyond her. She was the one who had connected to him, who had made him feel alive. At that point, he had found it easier to connect to the energy of nature. It was as if love had changed his own energy, altering it so that he could connect to nature to a far greater degree. Was his desire for love the same as the tree's desire for sunlight?

' _I began to believe in Akatsuki's goals because of her. Because of what Aji-chan experienced, I wanted to end the wars, end the senseless violence. And out of that desire I arrived here, bringing war and senseless violence to Fu and her village… Is that what the other me meant? The longer I continue with this, the more I will start to stray away from the person whom Aji-chan loves. It would not be death, but just as bad for her to see the person she loves become the same sort of monster as the ones who took the lives of her father and sister.'_

But was doing nothing an option? Yes, what Naruto did to Fu, beating her up and eventually murdering her by tearing the Nanabi out of her, was wrong. But if he did nothing, wouldn't that be just as bad? Connected to the world, Naruto saw how the mighty tree of Taki functioned just like all the others, eliminating its competitors by growing higher and putting them in the shade. Taking away the light of the sun, leaving them to perish in the shadows, the larger tree eliminated the smaller ones. Digging deeper, drinking with greater thirst, it out-competed the others. Life was a struggle around limited resources. The tree did not care about whether it did was good or evil. It did.

' _Killing the jinchuriki, waging Pein's war, it will lead to the death of many. It won't be good. But isn't good a projection of my own mind? If I do nothing, wars will continue. How many lives will that consume? How many more, like Ajisai's father and sister, will continue to suffer and die if I do not act? How many more will be left scarred, like Aji-chan, like Konan, like Pein. If I selfishly did nothing, out of a longing to be good, wouldn't_ that _make me evil?'_

Nature showed him the way. He was a tree that had outgrown most others, yet still stood in the shade of a few. Pein held Ajisai in the palm of his hand. Screwing up due to a faulty sense of morality would endanger her life. Sparing Fu would condemn others to the effects of the continuation of the cycle of violence. A tree did not ponder. It grew. It drank. It bathed in the light of the sun.

' _Doing this is bad, but only for me, only for a minority. Mankind as a whole would be able to enjoy a peace bought by those sacrifices. What other way is there to achieve peace? But buying time for the next generations, to learn what peace truly is, might give mankind the chance it needs. A path to end all unnecessary violence. Sure, like trees, humans will also compete for limited resources, that will be inevitable. But acting out of hatred, conducting horrible acts, has nothing to do with competing. Mankind spirals downwards, becoming more beastly than any animal. Slaughtering children, raping woman, tearing men apart, what does such senseless hatred have to do with survival?'_

Naruto noticed that he had exhaled deeply. An inhale followed. He was back. He had found a way out. Perhaps because he found an answer, as he had found that he should not strive to do good? Nature had shown him: the existence of good gave birth to the existence of evil.

"I'm sorry, Fu. I'm so, so sorry," he muttered to himself. "Come," he commanded his dragon. "Let us go to Kakuzu and end this meaningless slaughter. The death of Fu might bring peace, but I see no reason to continue a massacre like this."

The young Uzumaki did not realize that Kakuzu only acted as Pein had intended. Crippling Taki would give an excuse to Iwagakure and Kusagakure to try to expand their territories. With Sunagakure weakened and destabilized by the loss of their Kazekage, and Konohagakure oddly quiet ever since their Godaime had taken office, it meant that Amegakure had a relatively peaceful time, a reprieve from the storm to come.

Pein wished to teach the world the lesson that pain had taught him. Amegakure had already learned that lesson. His village deserved peace. Sending Kakuzu to Takigakure, when Pein knew that he held a rather violent grudge against the village, Pein must have known how it would inevitably end.

* * *

 _The tracks led west, towards the border of Amegakure. Infiltrating Amegakure has proven to be impossible. Moreover, we deemed it unwise to break the fragile treaty that Sadaime-sama made with Hanzo. Recommend increased security at the border. Locating where Kunomori and Kakuzu were headed after the confrontation with the team of Asuma-senpai has proven to be impossible._

It was merely a short report, but one which Tsunade had read several times, before handing it to Shizune.

"What is going on in Ame?"

"I wish I knew," Tsunade grimaced. "It might be that Akatsuki has some kind of base of operations in Amegakure, although I think that it is unlikely. Jiraiya also seemed to rule out that possibility. Hanzo would not cooperate with such terrorists. Besides, he'd know better than to steal the bijuu. No, I highly doubt Akatsuki would operate under the orders of Amegakure."

"Perhaps Naruto just travelled through?"

"I think so," Tsunade nodded. "But it makes one wonder. Kakuzu came from another direction, attacked the temple on his own, and then met up with Naruto shortly before they headed to the bounty station. Akatsuki has always been reported to operate in pairs. Why would they split up?"

"If Naruto was strong enough to defeat Asuma and his team with ease, it might be more reasonable for them to split up if they act as bounty hunters," Shizune suggested. They had learned from Ino that it had been Naruto who had killed a rogue Yamanaka not too long ago. Aside from that, with what Ino had described from her trip through Kunomori's mind, it seemed highly improbable that he was anyone other than Naruto.

Kakuzu had been someone who had defected from Takigakure and had attempted to assassinate her grandfather, so Tsunade already knew that this Akatsuki was not to be underestimated. Unlikely as it seemed, Naruto had somehow survived the incident in which everyone had believed him to have died. His survival was now an S-rank secret. None within Konoha were supposed to know. If Jiraiya found out…

Tsunade was not willing to inform her oldest friend about the survival of his godson, not before she knew the risk Naruto now posed. Without recollection of who he had been, Naruto now seemed to be some sort of puppet of Akatsuki. The mysterious shadow-like entity which Ino had reported to be within his mind only supported that theory. If she talked to Jiraiya without knowing the risks, he might throw himself into danger. She couldn't bear the guilt of another friend dying…

"Tsunade-sama?"

"This situation is difficult," the Hokage seemed tired; more exhausted than early in the mornings after one of her binge-drinking evenings, even. How long had it been now, since Jiraiya and Naruto had walked into that restaurant? Jiraiya had, just like Shizune herself, been incapable of dragging the 'old' Tsunade to the surface again, but that little blond brat had done what no one else could. That broken heart, that shadow of a once mighty and proud kunoichi, had started healing due to that little boy. He was a boy who never gave up, a boy who dreamt just like her little brother had done, just like her lover, Shizune's uncle, had once dreamed of becoming Hokage and changing the village.

"There are no leads."

"There are not, but that will not stop team ten, will it?" Tsunade looked at her assistant, who had the decency to stay quiet. Shizune knew it to be true, but did not want to lose Ino's trust either. Ino had been one of the few people who Shizune could rely on when it came to 'controlling' Tsunade. "Ino will not stand by idly when she knows that Naruto is still alive. If she does not know that he is being used, than that wretched Nara will figure it out. Shikamaru is too smart for his own good."

"Ino has nearly completely recovered now."

"I know. That is why I am going to send them to the border."

"Not into Amegakure territory, I hope?" Shizune asked, alarmed by the idea.

"No, I will expressively forbid that," Tsunade smiled gently. "It is futile, and Asuma and Shikamaru will probably realize it, but there is only a tiny chance that Naruto uses that same route more often. Who knows, perhaps they'll find evidence that the Anbu overlooked."

"It would also prevent them from mobilizing the others of their generation."

"Yes, knowing Ino, she might join up with Hinata. If team eight and Gai's bullheaded team learn the truth… well, things could spiral out of control quickly. I can't have them recklessly chase after Naruto, not when he's _that_ strong."

"Why not tell Jiraiya-sama?"

"Because he'd be even more reckless," Tsunade grimaced. "Hell, if not for this ruddy hat, I'd be even worse…"

' _At least you're honest about it,_ ' Shizune thought. How many years had she spent since she had to guess what her teacher and friend was thinking? "So what will you do about Naruto?"

"Kunomori of Akatsuki remains an enemy of Konoha until further notice. But due to his mokuton kekkei genkai, I made sure to emphasize that people should aim to capture him alive when battle is inevitable."

"Does that imply our forces are to avoid confrontations?"

"With Kunomori? Yes. A ninjutsu expert or a swordsman, those are the sort of people our forces can deal with. But someone who can grow and manipulate entire forests, someone who casually spawn the Mokuryu no Jutsu, that is not someone we can deal with. Well, perhaps the likes of Maito Gai, but considering how easily Naruto defeated Asuma…"

"Couldn't you just attach a flee-on-sight order to him?" Shizune frowned.

"And openly display Konoha's inability to deal with him?" Tsunade shook her head. "No, I cannot do that. Not yet, at least. Openly displaying weakness amidst this already-tense situation would be a mistake. Remember what Iwagakure did after Minato massacred their ranks? That flee on sight order was an admittance that Iwa had no one capable of dealing with the threat that Minato posed. I do not think that this is the case with Naruto. Not yet, at least. No, I hope that we can free him from whatever method Akatsuki uses to control him, rather than use more drastic measures. But, it will probably take someone like Jiraiya or myself to subdue him…"

* * *

"Can't you just quit sulking?" Naruto was starting to get annoyed, very annoyed, by Kakuzu's foul mood.

"If it had been anyone else, you would have been dead," Kakuzu growled. "Interrupting me during a battle. Bah."

"Weren't you the one who kept nagging me about not dragging emotions into battle?" Naruto retorted. "I remember how you said that a true shinobi controlled his emotions, that he would be capable of suppressing them completely when necessary. What you did in Taki had nothing to do with our mission."

Kakuzu glared, clenched his fists, but remained silent.

"Too bad. If you started a fight, I would have a legitimate reason to kill you," Naruto shrugged. "Even to that bastard of a Zetsu who always seems to be watching, it would be self-defense."

Naruto gestured at his Moku Bunshin. _Follow me_ , he waved with his hand. The wooden clone picked up the bound, gagged, and unconscious jinchuriki, and did as ordered. They were heading towards Otogakure, unfortunately. Knowing that Akatsuki had no hideouts in Takigakure, Naruto had hoped that they would head towards Amegakure in order to seal the Nanabi. Unfortunately, Zetsu had told them otherwise.

Seething or not, Kakuzu followed. Everyone would've died by his hands, everyone daring to insult him like that- but not Naruto. Kakuzu knew better now. Even if it had only been a glimpse, he knew enough that it would be wise to avoid a direct conflict with the younger boy. This was no longer the Naruto that he had used as a punching bag. No, this boy would be a worthy adversary, provide a fight unlike anything he'd faced since Hashirama. Perhaps… perhaps he was even an enemy worthy of dying against. Or, it would be an event worthy of proving he still deserved to live on.

Naruto did not care what Kakuzu thought. He was already looking ahead. Soon, his service to Akatsuki would end. Only a few more bijuu to go, and then they could bring peace to the world. Naruto didn't care about Pein's twisted ideology, but he did want to make a world of peace for Ajisai. She had given him peace, so now it was his turn. As long as Pein did not put that at risk, he could do whatever he wanted, as far as Naruto was concerned.

' _The snake and that puppet freak were aiming for the Hachibi. So it's going to be another six freaking days of sealing again. Akatsuki really isn't as thrilling as one would think. This sealing stuff is as boring as Hidan's ravings.'_

* * *

 **Bonus: Fun with Fungi**

* * *

Revenge. He had attacked them, and now they would get back at him. There were no hesitations, no fears, no holding back. He'd pay. He'd pay for attacking them with pepper powder.

"Are you certain that this is a good idea?" Suiren tried to keep the skepticism out of her voice, but failed miserably.

"Duh, of course it is!" Fuyo countered. "I thought of it!"

"That is why I'm in doubt." The deadpan expression alone could've been enough of an answer. "I mean, really? You actually expect that throwing a beehive at him will work? And where on earth did you even get a freaking beehive?"

Fuyo ignored her uncharacteristically agitated friend and continued her walk through the woods. Both remained careful to hide their presence. This time the surprise would be theirs!

* * *

"I have to admit, that's a good idea," Naruto scratched his chin.

"I do not know if it… erm… you've manipulated flowers and trees, but I'm not sure whether this is within your ability as well, Kunomori-sama."

"Tsk, cut it out with the 'sama' stuff," Naruto grumbled, although the soft giggle that followed made him realize that she was just fooling with him. "Well, we'll never figure out unless I try it. I'll focus on this completely, so be careful."

"Before it backfires like the Habanero seeds?"

"Exactly," Naruto felt the sweatdrop rolling off his head.

Closing his eyes, Naruto looked past the trees, past the shrubberies, grass, and other greenery. For this to work, he needed to single out another organism. All these little unicellular and multicellular organisms which were commonly known as the fungus, these fungi were the focus of his attention. Ajisai was right. If he could manipulate all plant life, then why wouldn't he be able to exert a similar level of control over things like yeasts, molds, or mushrooms? And in a land as damp and wet as Amegakure, this little forest was filled with mold.

It wasn't all that difficult to detect it. It was harder to leave out everything else, as the trees were the easiest thing for him to manipulate. But it worked out, even though he had to focus completely on just those fungi. All that was left for him now was to add chakra, and see what it would do.

* * *

"There he is," Fuyo whispered, as she and Suiren were hidden within the treeline. "He's meditating again."

"I don't know… We shouldn't do this… I got a bad feeling about this."

"Don't be such a chicken, Suiren." Fuyo whispered back, idly scratching her arm. "We can't… Why the heck am I so itchy all of a sudden?"

"It's not just you," Suiren looked at the light purple poncho which she always wore. "Oh no…"

* * *

Naruto and Ajisai both frowned when they saw the two girl rush out of the trees, Fuyo cursing loudly, and Suiren exclaiming something which sounded much like ''make it stop, make it stop".

"What the…"

"What are you two doing?" Ajisai pinched the bridge of her nose.

"It's my jutsu," Naruto blushed slightly.

"Eh?"

"It seems it wasn't as unsuccessful as I first thought," he looked away, and Ajisai wondered why. Although she quickly understood it when she saw her two friends. "I've cut off the chakra, the jutsu should've stopped now."

Fuyo cursed louder and louder, and Suiren's mood was little better. Which, in their defense, was rather understandable. It didn't happen every day that your clothes just fell apart while wearing it.

"I guess that the spores of the fungi became a little corrosive," Naruto added sheepishly.

"Perhaps… perhaps it wasn't such a good idea after all," Ajisai mumbled, dumbstruck by the sight of her now-naked friends. "I should really warn them next time you try out something new."

"...or tell them to bring an extra set of clothes," Naruto chuckled- earning a light slap to the cheek when he peeked. Ajisai didn't like it when he tried to look at her friends in their birthday suits.

"Pervert."

"How was I supposed to know that this would happen?!"

* * *

Somewhere in a distant land, a certain man was suddenly feeling very, very proud of his godson.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Ever since I first read the Pein arc, I was left pondering whether Nagato was either right or not. Naruto's idealism offered no answers, no concrete ways to peace. Even in the end, all Naruto did was uniting people because he was strong. Look at Konoha: the village only really accepted him after he began to grow stronger. Only a select few, like Hiruzen, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Iruka, or Hinata, accepted Naruto for who he was, _before_ he got strong. Without Naruto, the peace that he has achieved after the shinobi world war would probably crumble.

I wonder, what would be so different compared to the time when Hashirama was Hokage? Why would the effect of the end of Naruto's reign end be any different? Love and understanding might bring a desire for peace, but when you look at people who've had Nagato's life… what would love and understanding change? Would it change the fact that his parents were unnecessarily killed? Or the way Yahiko died? Not just him, of course, there are countless who resorted to violence due to their loss- Sasuke perhaps being the most notable one. There will always be those who wish to inflict pain upon others due to the pain they have suffered themselves. Right now, with how the manga ended, Naruto and the current Gokage might prevent war, but how long would the peace continue to last after they have passed away?

By contrast, I found Pein's plan to bring peace, by making war something so horrible that people would rather avoid it, a very realistic and longer lasting alternative. It is a bit like the current state of our world. We made war so horribly devastating that our nations only rarely engage in open warfare. Take the Cold War, for instance. Without the threat of nuclear missiles, what would have stopped any of the sides from commencing with wars? There is never a shortage of trigger-happy idiots, after all. We argue that our weapons are meant for defending ourselves, yet why do they cause so much unnecessary death? Instruments of death only bring death, nothing more.

Of course… that does not mean that I think that Nagato's plan is _good_. That was the dilemma I had while writing this chapter. Naruto is no longer completely desensitized, knows the value of a human's life, and yet he was to continue as Akatsuki's pawn. Why? How? Well, within his line of reasoning, it would be a lack of an alternative. Naruto does something that can be considered evil, in order to avoid things which he considers to be even worse.

As for the bonus part: the ideas behind the manipulation of fungi (and their spores) originally came from **RadioPoisoning** and my mighty beta **Illuminated**. It's something which will get more attention later on. Talk about feedback improving to the story. So, **review**!

'till next time.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	9. Lord of Thorns

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Nine**

 **Lord of Thorns**

* * *

" _I was angry with my friend:  
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.  
I was angry with my foe:  
I told it not, my wrath did grow."_

― William Blake

* * *

" **It's about time.** It certainly took you two long enough. **Well, in the end it doesn't even matter.** Because Orochimaru only just returned too!"

Naruto and Kakuzu, the latter now holding the unconscious jinchuriki over his shoulder, stood in front of the entrance of one of Otogakure's hideouts in the Land of Sound. Kakuzu was still in a very foul mood, being denied a chance to completely exterminate Takigakure, while Naruto was in a bad mood due to not being able to return to Ame, as well as having to capture Fu. Fu had seemed like a genuine and nice person to him, someone who had suffered a difficult life, and he then he had come and beaten her. The lack of alternatives still annoyed him.

"Fuck off Zetsu."

"How rude! **Naruto, it would seem you are as cheerful as Kakuzu is.** "

"You don't say," Naruto drawled. "Another six days of sealing bijuu. I'm sooo happy. No, really. Can't you see my big happy smile? Six freaking hours, Zetsu."

"Only three, actually. **Sasori and Orochimaru failed. The jinchuriki of the Hachibi was far stronger than anticipated.** Poor Sasori… **He should not have relied on Hiruko to defend him against such an attack.** "

"So they lost," Kakuzu grumbled. "Pathetic."

" **Orochimaru practically died as well.** When he came back he had to occupy a new body, with that creepy jutsu of his. **He insists he should be able to capture the Hachibi now, but his earlier failure makes that rather difficult to believe.** "

"He has a large bounty on his head…"

" **No, he still has his uses.** "

"Whatever, let's just get this over with," Naruto grunted. He strode forward, and two shinobi of Otogakure hastily opened the door. Apparently, they had not forgotten how Kakuzu and Naruto had disposed two of their 'elite' when they had been an annoyance. Half of his face hid under a mask, while the other half was mostly hidden underneath his sun-colored hair. The two Oto nin only needed to see the cloak, even if they weren't gifted with sensory abilities.

Looking at the red-haired girl that stood in the hall, nervously awaiting his arrival, Naruto knew that she did have sensory abilities. Why he knew, he could not put into words; perhaps it was the frightened look in her eyes, like a deer staring into the eyes of its hunter. Her lavender uniform made him look at her, see her crimson eyes, red hair, and fair skin. She wasn't ugly, and she didn't seem hesitant to show it, although the bite marks all over her skin were a bit… off-putting.

"K-Kunomori-sama, if you'd please follow me," the girl spoke up while she bowed, trying her best to not sound too afraid.

"Name?"

"Karin," she once again bowed swiftly.

"Your chakra is interesting. So full of life. Peculiar," Naruto frowned. "No, I am not a sensor, not by the regular definition of the word at least," he answered her unspoken question.

"I see. Orochimaru-sama spoke highly of your kekkei genkai."

"I suppose he did," Naruto said uncaringly. "Let us go." He turned around. "Oi, old man, hurry up. Or do I need to drag the jinchuriki there myself?"

Kakuzu chose not to respond, instead mumbling about something with Zetsu. Naruto figured it was about his change in mentality. Never before had he tried to stop Kakuzu, but after Amegakure, Naruto's priorities had changed. His being more difficult to steer, gaining a will of his own, must be quite annoying. ' _Let them do what Pein did, and share their plans with me.'_

Karin led them down into a labyrinth of halls filled with laboratories and jails, containing a wide variety of gruesome experiments. Most of them filled Naruto with pity. To see men and women being reduced to these sorts of beasts, it was not a pretty sight. Eventually, they arrived at a great hall, big enough to contain the demonic statue in which the Nanabi would be sealed.

"Orochimaru-sama," Karin bowed.

"Ah, our guests have arrived," Orochimaru stood up and turned towards Naruto, who paused. "I apologize, I have not yet had the time to modify my new body according to my wishes. But I am sure you know how capable it is, Kunomori-kun… after all, you were there when Guren was broken. I never knew that she cared that much about the boy. Such a convenient turn of events it was, in hindsight. Breaking her made it so much easier to possess her."

Naruto's brow twitched, and Karin scurried away from him. He idly wondered what the cracking sounds were, until he noticed how his chakra had torn up the ground around his feet.

"I take it you liked Guren-chan?" Orochimaru laughed mockingly.

"She deserved better than this," Naruto said in low voice. "I warned her about her foolish loyalty and look where it got her. It is unfortunate that she did not listen."

"Careful now, Kunomori-kun, or I might even think you don't like me…"

"Like I would give a shit about what you think, snake. Whether you live or die, I couldn't give a shit."

" **Kunomori has become rather harsh** ," Zetsu spoke up, rising from the ground. " **I would not tempt him, Orochimaru**. Kunomori-kun was at least able to subdue a jinchuriki," the white half added finely, making the snake sennin scowl. " **Kunomori, you caught the jinchuriki, so the honor of summoning the Gedo Mazo is yours.** Just go through the usual hand seals and channel the chakra through your ring."

The statue was summoned, the other shadows appeared on its fingers, and the sealing commenced. A long and arduous task, as always. Especially because the Nanabi was stronger than its brethren. At least, compared to those who had already been sealed.

This is when Zetsu, both halves, smiled. " **It is time.** I know, they are already on the move," they whispered to themselves. " **Good. Let them hurry.** "

* * *

"Anything?"

"What do you think?"

"Nothing."

"Then why ask?" Fuyo huffed.

"This mission is boring," Suiren sighed in agreement. "There nothing in this area. No one enters it. No one lives here."

"But we don't get attacked either," Ajisai smiled.

"Not even endless rain can dampen the spirit of a lovesick girl," Fuyo snickered. "Tell me, is that why you always volunteer to take first watch at night?"

"I'm not… I mean… yes, I'm worried," Ajisai eventually admitted. "He is out there, fighting the strongest possible opponents, aiding Pein-sama and Tenshi-sama in their quest to bring peace to the world. How could I not be worried?"

"Remember when he asked the three of us to test out that dragon of his?" Fuyo countered. "The first time wasn't that bad, but when he did that face-paint thing, the dragon he created became nigh unbeatable."

"My suiton jutsu pierces rocks effortlessly, yet it took four tries before I could nick that wooden monster," Suiren agreed. "If it had not been ordered by Kunomori to stay put, we'd never have been able to hit it four times at the same spot. I mean, when you summoned your panda, we saw how insanely fast that dragon could be."

"Still, it was mostly brute strength. Those man-sized things were far worse," Fuyo shuddered at the memory. "Their ability to suck out one's chakra made it nigh impossible to engage them at close combat, and the difficulty of destroying them was also ridiculous."

"Kunomori himself is ridiculous," Suiren chuckled. "Don't look at me like that, Ajisai, you know it is true! His strength is simply unreasonable, compared to three chunin like us."

Ajisai knew they were right. Mokuton: Mokuryo no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique) was terrifying to engage, but the weaker Mokuton: Gozanze Myouou (Wood Release: The one who subjugates the three worlds) was at least as dangerous. The only reason why Naruto disliked using the jutsu, Ajisai knew, was that the wooden creations were difficult to control, their ignorance matched by their warlike natures. But if she had to choose between the dragon and the foot soldiers, she'd definitely pick the dragon. It was faster and stronger, but not as unpredictably violent as the smaller and more numerous foot soldiers. Not to mention that the claws of the eight-armed Gozanze Myouou were poisoned. Ajisai loved Naruto, but his fascination for poisons was a trait she'd rather not see in him.

"She's spacing off again," Suiren muttered. "Fuyo, you're up."

"Ajisai and Kunomori are sitting in a tree, k -i -s -s -i -n-" Her song was rudely interrupted when Ajisai smacked her on the head. "Hey!"

"You two were up in a tree," Suiren snickered. "Even if it was a cabin up in a tree, it still counts. Although, I suppose you went further than just kissing, so Fuyo's childish song isn't truly correct, is it?"

"Why do you refuse to talk about it," Fuyo prodded. "We're only curious. Come on, time for girl-talk! No one can hear you out here, so don't be shy~~"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, girl," four shinobi popped up from nowhere, as if they simply rose from the ground. Neither Fuyo nor Suiren had even sensed them coming, in spite of their notable sensory talents. The four immediately went on the attack. The adult man, black-haired and sporting the Konoha insignia, focused on Fuyo. The rotund, brown-haired boy attacked Suiren, while the blonde girl and the black-haired boy with the pineapple hairdo attacked Ajisai.

They were not particularly fast, but durable. Their punches hurt, and the kunai they wielded left deep scratches. Still, the trio of Ame kunoichi survived the surprise attack.

"Why are Konoha shinobi invading our borders," Fuyo demanded. "Leave. Hanzo-sama has an agreement with Konoha." It was the usual lie that they used in the cases they encountered foreign shinobi. No one outside Amegakure was supposed to know that Hanzo had been killed, or that Pein had taken control of the hidden village. As long as there was doubt, the reputation of Hanzo the Salamander would keep doing its work in keeping foreign nations at bay.

"Hanzo cannot protect you here, can he?" the blonde girl mocked. Then, chaos unfolded. Ajisai summoned her panda, Suiren hid herself amidst a mist she created, and Fuyo fired countless senbon at the oldest of their attackers, effectively turning him into a porcupine.

But the Konoha shinobi did not use a single jutsu.

From her tags, Ajisai summoned a pair of hunting knives, blocking the kunai of her attacker. Her panda kept the other one at bay, giving her a chance to focus on one of her attackers. ' _Why are they not using any jutsu? That man is a jonin, I remember seeing him in a bingo book, but he only uses mediocre taijutsu, supported with a kunai. It makes no sense!'_

Out of the mist, Suiren appeared behind the blonde-haired girl that attempted to kill Ajisai and struck hard. With her arm cut off, the blonde was forced to retreat. Oddly, without even a single word or gesture, the other three acted at the exact same moment, in perfect harmony.

The lopped-off arm did not leave blood, something which confused Ajisai. But when she looked at the arm, which turned white and somewhat changed shape, Ajisai realized that these Konoha shinobi were fakes. With Fuyo at her right, Suiren at her left, and the panda in front, Ajisai wondered why the four enemies did not continue to push their attacks.

' _But that arm...'_ she glared at the four. "Who are you? What are you? You definitely are not the Konoha shinobi that you are impersonating."

"Such a smart girl."

"Too smart for her own good."

"She'd make good food, though."

"I lost an arm."

"Oh, shut up."

"You shut up."

"What the hell?" Fuyo looked on in disbelief, as she saw the four starting a weird argument. Their voices followed each other in perfect sync, as if it was actually just one person talking. In timing, at least, not in the actual sound of voice, but it was unnerving nonetheless.

"Sorry, but-"

"-we need you to die."

"You especially, Ajisai-chan."

"It was hard to discover-"

"-but we found traces of your chakra on him."

"And your smell as well. You two have been very naughty," the blonde girl smiled mischievously. "But we can't have our Naruto-kun to be distracted."

"You make him difficult to manipulate."

"And we can't let Pein control him either."

"Especially not through you."

"So you must die," the rotund boy finished with a laugh.

"Naruto? Who the hell is Naruto? And what relation does Ajisai have with him?" Fuyo blurted out. "We don't know any Naruto, so fuck off, you freaks!"

"Kunomori," Ajisai was pale. "K-Kunomori-kun, his real name is Naruto…"

"See, I told you," the black-haired jonin started.

"He told her his real name," the one-armed blonde girl nodded.

"Which makes you dangerous," the pineapple-haired boy sighed.

"If Pein learns his name, our plans would be ruined…" the rotund boy whined.

"You… you are Zetsu, aren't you?" Ajisai realized. "Naruto-kun warned me about you. Why? Why are you targeting me? Naruto-kun does everything that Pein-sama asks of him!"

"But what we want isn't what Pein wants, clever girl," one of the four snickered. "Pein is but a tool, he would not be capable of fathoming our purpose. And neither will you. You will all just die."

"Kaifujutsu: Kamifubuki (Unsealing Technique: Paper Snowstorm)," Ajisai panicked, and unsealed one of her paper cards, causing a flood of little paper-slices to charge at the four forms of Zetsu. She wasn't sure how he had found out about her and Naruto, as Naruto had told her that Zetsu could not enter Amegakure unnoticed, but now that he did know, she knew they had to run. Zetsu was part of the same organization as Naruto, Pein, and Konan, so she guessed that Zetsu would be an enemy far beyond their capacity to fight.

"So futile," the fake Yamanaka muttered. The 'paper snowstorm' had died down, revealing that the three kunoichi had ran away.

"They cannot hope to outrun us."

"But if they get too close to the border-"

"-the real Konoha team would run into them."

"Let's kill them now. That girl is too great a threat to our plan."

"Naruto-kun will be very sad when he sees our recording…"

"After we have edited it, at least."

"We don't want him to get mad at us, but-"

"-if he wrecks Konoha-"

"-it would be far more fun!"

* * *

"We are done," Pein announced. Fu's body had fallen down to the ground, empty and lifeless. The Nanabi had been extracted, and when the Gedo Mazo opened a fifth eye, they knew the sealing was successful.

"Fucking finally," the shadow of Hidan swore. "This would be far more enjoyable if we could just kill them right away, you know."

"If you did that, the bijuu would also perish. And it would take years until the creature reformed," Pein remained monotonous, although his eyes narrowed slightly. "If you hindered our plans, Hidan, I would be forced to kill you."

"Yeah right, kill _me_ ," Hidan laughed.

"You'll never learn to shut up, you moron," Kisame sighed. "With his dojutsu, I think it would be very possible to kill you. In fact, I'd be glad if he did. We have an odd number now anyway, right?"

"What are our next targets?" Naruto interrupted, before Hidan could respond to Kisame's taunt. The two would never end this foolish game.

"You and Kakuzu will seek out the Gobi. Zetsu found the Rokubi, and I will personally head out with Konan to get that. Kisame and Hidan, you two will hunt down the Hachibi. Due to the failure of Orochimaru and Sasori, you should expect greater resistance from Kumogakure."

"Idiots," Kisame sneered. Orochimaru didn't respond, though. He was smarter than Hidan. Then again, even White Zetsu was smarter than Hidan, Naruto estimated. Although, now that he considered it, Zetsu's banter about poop was an exception to that rule. Even Hidan had a better sense of humor.

"We are done," Pein ended the meeting. The Gedo Mazo returned to from whence it came, and the shadowy members of Akatsuki evaporated. Only Orochimaru, Kakuzu, Zetsu, and Naruto remained.

"Iwagakure," Naruto continue to curse for a little while. "Why on earth did we have to go to Oto if he wanted us to hunt down the Gobi afterwards?!"

"If we had gone to Ame, and Takigakure had traced us, there would be another war," Kakuzu grunted. "If you had just allowed me to wipe out the entire village, we would not have had that problem."

"Whatever," Naruto walked over to the corpse of Fu, and sealed her in one of the empty sealing cards which Ajisai had given him.

"I'd prefer you let her remain with me," Orochimaru smiled. "There aren't many opportunities to gather data on a former jinchuriki, after all."

"Fuck you. I led her to her death, and I'll give her a decent burial as well. Conduct your twisted experiments on others."

"You should show more respect to your seniors, Kunomori-kun."

"Why would I respect a weak loser like you?" Naruto chuckled humorlessly. "Just shut the hell up and stick to your laboratories, and do whatever it is that benefits Akatsuki. Clearly you don't have the skill to do anything else, like capturing a bijuu. So get the fuck out of my way, or I'll destroy you. Seeing you parasitize on Guren's body sickens me."

That was enough to make Orochimaru lose his fake laugh. His yellow reptilian eyes narrowed, his face contorted in an angry grimace. To make things worse, Kakuzu began to laugh darkly. These past three days had dampened his foul mood a little, and seeing Naruto verbally engage Orochimaru was definitely amusing.

" **You should stop this Kunomori.** Or Orochimaru would get sad. **Moron, he wouldn't be sad, but he might be foolish enough to engage Kunomori.** That would make him even sadder!"

"Let him," Naruto said flippantly. "Like I'd care what that pathetic parasite thinks about me. Fu was a good person, so I'm giving her a decent burial. Her death was necessary for Akatsuki, but that doesn't mean she needs to be desecrated by that slithering piece of trash."

" **Crazy and worthless or not, but we still need him.** He's responsible for creating something very new. **He's already finished with him** ," Black Zetsu corrected his whiter half. "We still need him though, just like corn! **Corn?** Yes! **Idiot.** Corn is important, right? And yet you gotta be careful of corn at night. They can be very creepy with their husky voices and seedy appearance. Why, they even cob right out and tell you to shuck it right to your face."

The blacker half of Zetsu facepalmed, smacking the whiter half in the face as well, and Kakuzu sighed with annoyance. Even Naruto, accustomed to Zetsu's unusual behavior, couldn't resist the urge to facepalm at the terrible pun. Least amused by the attempt at a joke was Orochimaru, as he had too much pride in his work to appreciate being compared to something as idiotic as corn. After all, he was responsible for creating the new body of Uchiha Madara, who'd be revived by Nagato when the time was right.

Orochimaru didn't know the latter, of course. He only thought the body would be used for his kinjutsu, the Edo Tensei no Jutsu (Impure World Reincarnation). To Zetsu, it was merely one puppet creating another puppet. Madara had been caught in Zetsu's plans, long before the man's death. But reviving the legendary Uchiha too early would be problematic, as Zetsu lacked the means to control the man. No, to them, it was only useful to revive him, and then seal the Juubi within the man. His eyes were required to return Kaguya. Although, there were other means to keep Madara, and the Juubi, on a leash. But Zetsu had lived long enough to know the value of patience, to wait until the perfect opportunity presented itself. This was why Madara would only be revived at the last possible moment, so that his stupid schemes would not inhibit Zetsu's plans.

As for now, everything had gone according to plan, so there was no necessity to bring the Uchiha back. The weak clone of White Zetsu which emerged from the ground was only part of the same plan. There were plans within plans, behind plans hidden underneath even more plans- yet everyone kept underestimating Zetsu, because he was weak. Fools, soon… soon, they would all pay the price.

Still, not even Black Zetsu knew what Orochimaru would have done if not for the feeble clone of White Zetsu popping up. The clone was almost completely devoid of chakra, to a degree where even Naruto only felt its presence at the very last moment. Its expression, however, was one of complete panic- according to Zetsu's plan, of course.

"It's bad! It's bad! They were attacked!"

" **Who?** Hello weak-me! **Shut up, idiot.** But he is a weak me. **He is, but he's a spy, so it's his purpose to be weak.** "

"What is going on?" Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, not included in this plan. He was suspicious what Zetsu was doing.

" **We never told you, did we?** My weak clones are spies. **They are so weak that only the very best sensors can pick up their chakra. They are useless for every purpose except for spying.** They keep an eye on everyone important! **Jinchuriki, kage, the strongest jonin, and other people whom we hold interest in… these clones keep an eye on them whenever possible.** But what is so bad that you come here? **Yes, you specifically weren't supposed to approach us when Kunomori was near.** "

"He is the one who needs to know about this especially…" the clone bowed its head. "I'll merge. My purpose is over anyway."

"What do you… **If it is over, that must mean…** Oh dear, that would be very bad," White Zetsu gasped when his clone merged with him.

"What?" Naruto demanded impatiently. Who were they spying on that he wasn't supposed to know about? His greatest fear was that they knew about Ajisai. But… they couldn't know about her, right?

" **When your behavior changed,** we started investigating. **We found traces of chakra on you and your equipment, chakra which wasn't yours.** Also the scent of a woman. **Yes, so we created one of these spies to discover who it was that changed you.** And we found the girl, while she and two other Kunoichi were travelling towards the border of Hi no Kuni. **Yes.** "

"Ajisai… what happened to her?" Naruto rasped, his throat dry and a fear gripping his heart. If that clone was supposed to watch Ajisai, and its purpose was lost, it meant that… ' _No… no, that can't be! Konan would assign her to a simple mission. She promised.'_

" **Amegakure is a land filled with conflict.** Before Pein ended it, there was always war and betrayal. **Yes, and while he keeps a very close eye on anyone who infiltrates Amegakure –** even we cannot enter undetected! – **it does not imply that he always sees the spies who were already within the ranks of the Ame forces.** Traitors."

Faster than anyone could follow, Naruto moved towards Zetsu, grabbing the plant-like being by the throat, and squeezing hard. "Ajisai is not a traitor," he growled. "Don't you dare suggest that she is!"

"Ow, ow, ow, that hurts," White Zetsu whined. "We can't help it, we only saw. **Why else would her team meet with a squad from Konoha?** We were suspicious, that was why we kept an eye on her. Well, my clone did. **But it merged, so it became us** ," Zetsu corrected himself, almost making a slip of the tongue. " **They talked, exchanged something,** but then the Konoha team attacked."

Naruto let go of Zetsu, now looking as pale as White Zetsu. "No… No… that cannot… you're lying!"

" **We can show you.** We usually only show Pein what we recorded. **But in this case, I think it is better not to involve Pein. We suspect that he used her to manipulate you, only she turned out** to be a double agent."

The black arm of Zetsu rose, its hand put on top of Naruto's head. Naruto slumped down to his knees when he saw how the Konoha team, the same team whose lives he had spared before, killed Fuyo. He saw how Suiren was blasted away, her body sliding away through the mud. He broke when he saw how the four shinobi surrounded Ajisai, who fought valiantly, but was outnumbered and outmatched. A kunai ended her life.

That kunai ended Naruto's life. His heart broke. His mind shattered. All he heard was the dark laughter within his head; the infuriating voice of his shadow welcomed him to the darkness, welcomed him to the fade. Rage, a bottomless, yet empty, anger welled up. Hatred bloomed for those who took Ajisai away, for those who killed his heart, his one attachment, his main reason to make the world a peaceful place.

"Kukuku, it would seem the tables have turned," Orochimaru laughed. "If you give me the corpse of that 'Ajisai', I could return her to this realm…"

"Y-you… you what?"

" **Don't listen to him**. That jutsu is an insult to life! **It is called 'impure' reincarnation for a reason** ," Zetsu had nothing against Orochimaru, finding him a rather useful tool. But if Orochimaru would try to control Naruto in such a garish way, he would have to be removed. Naruto was Zetsu's to control. That annoying girl would not inhibit his plans any further- not after all the trouble he went through to edit the recordings in such a way that Naruto could not see the differences.

"What jutsu?" Naruto stammered. "How could Ajisai return?"

" **Orochimaru would summon her soul from the afterlife, binding it to the body of a living person.** But in the end, her soul would just be reduced to nothing more than a puppet. **It is the vilest jutsu in human history, a jutsu that is an affront to life itself.** And through turning Ajisai into a puppet, Orochimaru tries to control you," Zetsu urged. " **He wants you, Kunomori, as he covets the mokuton kekkei genkai**."

"Lies!" Orochimaru hissed, but not convincing enough. The man was betrayed by Zetsu, but that did not mean that Zetsu was wrong. Zetsu was completely correct about Orochimaru's intentions, and Naruto heard it.

" **He'd resurrect her in return for your services.** He wouldn't do it for free, oh no. **And when he has you cornered, little by little,** he'd try to take your body, **just like that kunoichi whom fought by your side when you defeated Yagura.** "

Guren. The girl, while so valiant during battle, ultimately had been broken by the loss of Yukimaru. Naruto had not understood why she had felt that way, he had never had any bonds before. Ajisai was the first person who had slipped into his heart, the first person he came to love. She was the only one who loved him for him, and not for his kekkei genkai. She was the one who had given him purpose, who made him desire to do things to satisfy his own motivations, other than those supplied by others.

Now she had died; she was dead, and Orochimaru wanted to turn her into one of his sick experiments, like Guren, like Yukimaru, like what he wanted to do to Fu.

He had fallen into despair, into darkness. He had gone into the fade, and power was his answer. Something snapped within Naruto. His blue eyes glowed red, and the chakra he emitted was enough to shatter the floor underneath him. Cracks spread, even across the ceiling of the great cave.

There were no words, no warnings, just an explosive rise in his chakra, and then the world turned into chaos. Kakuzu ran for the exit, knowing that hauling ass was the only viable solution. Zetsu sank into the ground, speeding away as fast as he could. But Orochimaru… Naruto would not tolerate his escape. Orochimaru had invoked his anger, and now he had to pay the price.

A barrier of crystal shattered under Naruto's fist. A cage of wood ensnared the sennin. "Such chakra… surely you would not betray Akatsuki, would you?" Orochimaru sweated. "You would not hurt Guren."

"Life as a slave is no life at all. I will reunite her with Yukimaru," Naruto's voice was empty, devoid of any feeling except a cold rage. Listlessly, his crimson eyes stared at Orochimaru. Through the entrance which Kakuzu had chosen to escape the situation, several of Otogakure's shinobi rushed in. "Mokuton: Gozanze Myouou (Wood Release: The one who subjugates the Three Worlds). Kill everything that moves," he ordered his automatons.

Three wooden constructs, shaped like tall, eight-armed men, each with three demonic faces at its head, rose from the ground. Their response, a raw war cry, was something that froze the blood of the fools that entered the cave. The red-haired girl was the first to run, but even she was too late to escape Naruto's wrath. The red-eyed wooden foot soldiers did not care for any injury anyone might cause, supposing that someone even managed to pierce their blue-black skins, as these wrathful incarnations only cared about the decimation of the enemy's ranks. It was as if they were manifestations of Naruto's rage, shaped in the image of what Naruto had read in a book which he had taken from a temple.

"Orochimaru of the Sannin," Naruto stalked towards the alarmed man. Naruto's chakra kept surging, higher and higher and higher, there seemed to be no limit. Strange pigmentation appeared on Naruto's face, around his eyes, and the dot-and-circle on his forehead.

"Senjutsu," Orochimaru realized. "You… if you spare me, I can teach you how to-"

"You are a snake. Your words are your fangs, spreading your poison. Your thoughts defile being both the living and dead. **You should never have insulted Aji-chan.** " The last bit was said with a voice that was not his own. There was a voice deeper than Naruto's, filled with such malice, that Orochimaru felt an old feeling run up his spine- fear. Sage mode was not supposed to be this malicious.

His cause lost, Naruto disregarded any attachment to life, and dove deeper into the ocean of nature's energy than he had ever done before. The response within him was equal. A chakra flooded him, one both alien and familiar at the same time. Both sources of power granted him a chance to do something he had never done before. It was peculiar, actually. Naruto had never even heard of the jutsu, neither by name nor by reputation, and yet he somehow _knew_ it. It was something instinctual, something he felt to be right.

Then again, the stronger his connection to nature had become, the more he learned about mokuton. Nothing in the scrolls supplied by Zetsu had ever explained the jutsu which Madara had seen Hashirama use: ' _A gigantic wooden statue with a thousand hands, the Senju Kan'on, through which Hashirama can overpower even the likes of the Kyuubi no Yoko or the complete manifestation of my Susano'o.'_ That was all Madara had written; there were notes on how the landscape had drastically changed after their battle, almost bragging that he had managed to survive it. Naruto was slightly disturbed by the way Madara had been obsessed about Hashirama's power. The way he had described the Shin Susenju was almost… loving.

Regardless, Madara had been unable to explain the jutsu, and now Naruto realized why. It was not something that could be explained. It was not something that could be taught. Whether the bodhisattva truly existed or not, Naruto could not tell, nor did he truly care. He had practically been raised by Zetsu and Kakuzu, two of the least religious people he knew. He only had this image in his head, from what he had seen in a book he took from a temple, yet he instinctively knew he could give it shape. Down to the last detail, in complete perfection, not just in appearance but also in how it functioned. Then again, the same had happened when he had first created a wood dragon.

Perhaps if Naruto had considered the possibility of there being a second consciousness within him, he might have realized the source of this knowledge that suddenly popped up when necessary. Aside from Madara, there was one more who had experienced the full might of Hashirama's mokuton, after all…

"Senpo Mokuton: Shin Juichimen Kan'on (Sage Art Wood Release: the True Eleven-Headed Kan'on)"

* * *

She wasn't sure what had just happened. Her master and his guests had stayed in the grand cave below Otogakure's largest hidden base, doing something which even she could not distinguish. Whether she was an exceptional sensor or not, the ominous chakra was simply indecipherable. And after several days, it just vanished. Taking this as a signal, she prepared the underlings for their master's return, when they would assist him in adjusting his new body according to his preferred specifications.

But first, their guests would have to leave. The tall man was imposing, and had chakra reserves that were among the oddest she had ever seen. It was as if he had five different sources of chakra. Perhaps that explained why he was so much stronger than the usual shinobi, even if one took his S-rank into consideration. Kakuzu, Orochimaru had said he was named. Karin knew well that her master had warned her about the man, that Kakuzu would murder just about everything if it got him money. With the sole exception of Takigakure, the village which he had betrayed- those he was willing to slaughter even without monetary compensation.

The other one was equally odd. She had not seen Zetsu arrive, but even from here she saw how the body was composed of two different chakras. It was as if the left half was a completely different person from the right one. However, the side that felt so cold and evil seemed to be more akin to a parasite, being reliant on the life force of the other half. She was never sure whether Zetsu was one individual or two. Perhaps they were similar to Sakon and Ukon, Karin could not tell. Zetsu was too foreign, too alien and inhumane, for her to make assumptions like that. But it was not Zetsu that worried her, nor was it Kakuzu, despite the power the old bounty hunter held.

No, as peculiar as these two were, it was the third guest, the youngest, that worried Karin the most. Kunomori, wielder of the mokuton kekkei genkai, was a person whose talents Orochimaru had praised, but Orochimaru had also conceded that this kekkei genkai was the most difficult to obtain. Karin knew that her master would have rather gotten an Uchiha body for his purposes. She had personally conducted research on the collection of sharingan which Orochimaru had obtained after Uchiha Itachi had slaughtered his entire clan, before he had put an end to his own life. Every time they had attempted to integrate a sharingan into Orochimaru's body, the tissue had perished. Something about the chakras of her master and the previous person who had 'worn' the sharingan made it impossible for him to implant the eye.

Orochimaru and Kabuto had theorized quite a bit on how to obtain the sharingan, despite the facts that the entire Uchiha clan had been reduced to history, and that the only known person with a successfully transplanted sharingan had perished. At that point, Zetsu had shown up. Why the plant-like man (was it ever a man? Karin could not tell) wanted to have the body of Uchiha Madara was a mystery to her. But Zetsu had supplied tissue; Karin could never forget the stunned expression which Orochimaru had had at that point, and they had started to recreate the body of the most legendary Uchiha of them all.

It was not rebirth, mind you. No, whatever Zetsu was planning, he only needed a body, and Orochimaru had complied. Together with Kabuto, and later also Karin, they had completed their task. They had kept it a secret from Zetsu, of course, as Orochimaru rather wanted to use the opportunity to gather more data on the Uchiha and their kekkei genkai. Progress was slow, but Karin had hopes that they would one day succeed. Secretly, she hoped she would be the one to find the answer. That way, Orochimaru would praise her, rather than Kabuto. She really wanted to put that smirking bastard in his place, even though she knew that she was powerless to defeat Kabuto in a direct confrontation.

Yet, in spite of their slow progress, Orochimaru had been overjoyed when another lost kekkei genkai had resurfaced: mokuton, the legendary ability through which the Shodai Hokage, Hashirama of the Senju clan, had fundamentally changed the way their world operated. But now that she had seen him up close, Karin wondered why Orochimaru even thought of stealing Kunomori's body. She had never sensed such a chakra before, ever. It was so full of life, so potent, that it almost blinded her.

It was that blinding chakra which had darkened. For some reason, that chakra he hid deep within him came to the surface, but in a twisted and mutilated form. His light had faded, his chakra corrupted, and before she fully realized what he had done, Karin had barged into the cave, wanting to warn her master. It was perhaps the greatest mistake she had ever made. He had created three demon-like wooden soldiers, wrathful and terrifying creatures, seven feet tall, with a blue-black skin. Their eyes glowed red: all of them.

The Gozanze Myouou had three faces on each head. There was one expressing suffering, and one expressing sorrow, but the one in the front expressed an unfathomable rage. This central face had five eyes, glowing red like embers, while the other two on the side of its head had three eyes each. The faces, however, were not the most terrifying aspect of the creatures. No, the most terrifying was the eight arms each construct had, each with beastlike claws that were designed for only one thing: slaughter.

Karin was already running before the three Gozanze Myouou even began to move. She knew this was bad, extremely bad, because Kunomori was amassing chakra for something far greater. There were quantities of chakra which even her master could only dream of.

So, she ran. She ran, ignoring the cries behind her. The Gozanze Myouou were tearing through the shinobi of Otogakure, butchering them, as if they were nothing more than cattle. Injuries could not stop them, fire could not set them ablaze, and all who got too close to the wooden demons perished. Karin noticed their victims died even when only suffering flesh wounds; this told her that the claws of the demons had been coated in some kind of poison- a poison effective even against Orochimaru's minions.

' _What I did was probably pointless, but still… I had to try.'_

Opening the door of Juugo's prison was a dangerous tactic, but the further Karin ran away, the more distant the sounds of combat became. She allowed herself a moment to catch her breath, opening her inner eye, watching how Juugo, in all his transformed 'glory', was struggling against two of Kunomori's demons. The other was causing a bloodbath among the prisoners, used and unused experimental subjects alike. Kakuzu's chakra signal quickly passed through the battle zone, though. In passing, he tore through one of the Gozanze Myouou, but ignored the other one and Juugo. Whatever he was aiming for, Karin decided to scram. Kakuzu was partnered with Kunomori, so perhaps he too had turned against Orochimaru?

None of that mattered, though. Kakuzu was close to her, moving far faster than Karin would ever be able to, but her worries about him aiming to kill her were irrelevant. Because, before Kakuzu could even lay a finger on her, the ceilings collapsed. Dust filled her lungs, and through her inner eye she saw something enormous emerge from the cave that was their cellar. Fear blinded her mind, and the last thing she saw were the tons of rock above her that came down.

* * *

Dust, rocks, boulders… he was not pleased, not pleased at all. But, he had survived. It had cost him a heart, but Kakuzu had survived the collapse of the Otogakure base. "Whatever that brat is thinking, I'm going to kill him," he growled, struggling to stand up. Once he succeeded, he dusted himself off and tried to figure out what was happening.

Kakuzu had seen a few jinchuriki during his lifetime. He had even witnessed some of the Bijuu. Last, but definitely not least, had been Yagura, after the former Mizukage had unleashed the Sanbi on them. The bijuu were impossibly strong creatures, and huge. Kakuzu had not expected there to be anything larger than the bijuu.

And yet, here he stood. Amidst rubble, amidst expanses of crystal, mostly shattered to fragments, Kakuzu saw something that surpassed everything he had ever seen. It was a man-like wooden statue, taller than any bijuu, with two mighty arms. It seemed almost peaceful, as it sat in a lotus position, holding its massive hands as if in prayer, but Kakuzu knew better than that. He had experienced the wood dragons that Hashirama could create first hand, and had seen Naruto do the same thing. Whatever this Buddha-like statue was, Kakuzu knew that it was not just big.

"This… is dangerous."

" **That it is.** Our little boy has become so big. **All that strength… if he directs his hatred against Konoha, this could be fun.** We could also blame Pein for Ajisai's 'unfortunate' death, can't we? **Perhaps, but we should go with the story we crafted now. The longer he believes that those silly girls were traitors conspiring with and betrayed by the Leaf, the better. Let him destroy Konoha first. Konoha isn't as easy as Kirigakure, after all.** "

"It was you," Kakuzu's eyes widened. "You killed that girl, you made him do this."

" **Isn't it wonderful how easy it is** **to manipulate people who are blinded by anger?** "

* * *

It broke through the ceiling, through the tons of rock that were between it and the surface, but it wasn't even faltering for a second. Like a man wading through water, the statue rose up to the surface. Orochimaru saw everything crumble: his laboratories, his subjects were buried underneath the rock. Only because of his jutsu, Orochimaru had escaped. The task of hiding in the surface was complex, especially when the soil through which one travelled was in a state of change, but he had managed to get out of the collapsing base.

"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto had also escaped. "What is happening? Did Akatsuki betray Otogakure?"

"Only one of them," Orochimaru hissed, pointing at the enormous wooden statue. It sat down as if calmly praying to the gods, almost tauntingly. Its eyes were shut, but the Juichimen Kan'on had more than one face. As its moniker suggested, it had eleven heads. At least, the Kan'on had eleven heads top his crown, all donning different expressions, but all eyes seemed to be searching for _something._

On top of its crown, amidst the circle of the eleven heads that made up the crown of the Juichimen Kan'on, Naruto stood. His eyes still held that red glow. Atop the Kan'on, out of their reach, he had every opportunity to replenish the energy that he had lost at the creation of the Juichimen Kan'on. Each of the eleven heads was as high as he was tall, and those eleven heads only were comparable in size to the eyes of the 'main' head, the one on which the crown rested. Such was the size of the jutsu, tall enough to put a bijuu in its shadow, strong enough to flatten even the skyscrapers of Amegakure.

It was a being born out of the suffering and pain within Naruto's heart, one which would protect and bring salvation. Fed chakra through him, energy derived from nature. Naruto didn't know how insanely much chakra it would consume to get the statue standing up and walk it around. Keeping it in its seated position seemed like the best option right now.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Orochimaru expanded a great amount of chakra to summon Manda as well as a three-headed snake which was nearly as enormous as Manda. Not that either of the snakes compared to the statue in terms of size. But they were fast. Faster than Juichimen Kan'on could move, or so Orochimaru hoped.

Even Manda did not waste words, losing the urge to complain about being summoned upon seeing the wooden giant. Shooting out, the three-headed snake lunged for the statue's arms, while Manda prepared to strangle its neck.

" **Tear those things asunder** ," Naruto commanded with his inhuman voice.

The Juichimen Kan'on responded immediately, following its creator's command. The three-headed snake, having each head peculiarly decorated with red scarf around the base of its necks, was hit first. The palm of the left hand grabbed the poor creature, lifting it from the ground as if it weighed nothing. Draped around its neck, Manda could only watch as the three-heads snake screamed out in pain- until all its movements seized, the yellow eyes on all three heads crying out in blood.

The palm of the left hand elevated mortal souls to the afterlife, injecting a chakra that bound their physical bodies, a chakra that, when reaching a certain point, blossomed in a deathly poison. The body would reject itself, then would organs fail, the brains wither, and the eyes bleed out. Only a symbol, glowing in the same crimson light as Naruto's eyes, on the back of the statue's left hand was an indication of the death it brought. It was the lotus, the symbol of ascension to the Pure Land, the afterlife.

But such was not the power of the right hand. The right hand of the Juichimen Kan'on only had one simple function. It removed everything that could cause fear, it _protected_. The right hand enclosed Manda's head, and just when the snake feared that it would perish like his brother, the massive snake (although seemingly feeble in the hand of the even bigger statue) disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

'Fear not' was what the right hand symbolized. As such, it rejected that which caused fear, and ninjutsu were instruments that brought fear, being the corruption of its original purpose. Ninjutsu was the weaponized form of an energy which was once meant to connect. But in its greed and malice, humanity twisted that force to something which divided, rather than connected. The Juichimen Kan'on could not tolerate that.

"It is powerful, Orochimaru-sama, but it is relatively slow. And the greatest vulnerability is that it leaves the user unprotected," Kabuto analyzed. "Shall I attack?"

"Yes. I will prepare my next jutsu." Orochimaru hurried away from the statue, and with a power that one would not expect from someone with his current stature, he dug his way through several boulders. "Ah, good."

"O-Orochimaru-sama," Karin could not feel her legs, but she had struggled to get out nonetheless. Her resilient Uzumaki life force was undoubtedly what pulled her through, despite the fact that her legs where crushed and broken, with the lower left leg even missing altogether. "P-please…"

"Please?" Orochimaru smiled wickedly. "You want to be rewarded for your survival? You definitely served me longer than I would have expected, Karin-chan. But alas, all good things come to an end."

He summoned some kind of coffin, which stood vertically, taller than Orochimaru himself. "Now, let us commence the ceremony. I thank you for your loyalty, Karin-chan. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten," Orochimaru's grin widened.

"No… not… edo tensei… please…"

"Ah, but without Uchiha Madara, I might even perish," Orochimaru snickered. "After what the Sandaime Hokage did to my arms, you and I both know that my combat ability is not what it used to be. I will need a more capable puppet to-"

"Hello! **Madara isn't your puppet, Orochimaru.** "

"Zetsu-san, what a pleasant surprise. And here I thought you had abandoned me."

" **Only until you'd be forced to summon Madara.** And you did that far sooner than we expected!" White Zetsu said cheerfully. "Our little boy has become so big. I'm so proud of Kunomori-kun! **But we'll be taking Uchiha Madara from here on out. We thank you for your loyalty, Orochimaru-san. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten** ," both halves of Zetsu laughed before they sank into the ground, taking along the coffin which contained the regrown body of Uchiha Madara, leaving behind a very frustrated Orochimaru. He, in turn, left Karin to bleed out, but only after sucking out what little of her chakra had remained.

* * *

Naruto had to admit that his opponent was a slippery one, but it was foolish for him to engage Naruto here. Naruto had the mokuton kekkei genkai; he could manipulate wood in whatever way he wanted. Standing on top of a statue made of that substance was like having a massive arsenal at his immediate disposal. The young man with the spectacles might be strong, but his power was insignificant in comparison.

He was like a pesky fly, however, in that Naruto failed to swat him.

"You have earned your position within Akatsuki well, Kunomori-kun," Kabuto spoke up. Not the one who was dodging Juichimen Kan'on's left hand, though. No, this Kabuto stood behind Naruto.

"Oh, he uses the Kage Bunshin. What a cliché," Naruto growled, annoyed that the bespectacled shinobi underestimated him so much. One hand went up, and Kabuto wanted to dodge. Wanted to, but could not. His feet had sunk into the wood, which was holding him down. Naruto's hand stretched, and stopped in front of him. "Earlier, you said you could heal from any wound," Naruto said with a sadistic grin. "Heal from this. Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)."

The gust of air blasted him from the Kan'on's head, but Kabuto laughed nonetheless. "Heal from that? Stop underestimating me!"

"It is not the left hand you should be worried about." Unmoved, Naruto watched how the Juichimen Kan'on grabbed Kabuto. The clone was still distracting the lethal left hand, but the right hand was working just as well. "You are weak, but gain endurance through ninjutsu. I wonder what happens when you cannot use your jutsu…"

Kabuto struggled, but the massive hand did not budge. The arm moved up. The arm moved down. With a sickening crash, the right palm was plunged into the ground. The palm connected to his body, Kabuto could not use any ninjutsu. His broken and flattened form was left as a silent memento of the battle that was waged here. His death, while too quick to make him suffer for all the horrors he committed, was definitive, and the clone dispelled.

That was the moment Orochimaru used. Shoton might not be as powerful and flexible as mokuton, but nevertheless it was able to crystallize anything. The Kan'on shed off its right arm as the wood it was composed of was turned into crystal. It was merely a distraction, though.

If Kabuto was fast, Orochimaru was definitely faster. Before Naruto could react properly, the snake was already near the neck of the statue. The eleven heads that crowned the Kan'on opened their mouths in perfect synchronicity and Orochimaru was hit by the dust that came out of the eleven mouths.

Naruto wondered why the man screamed all of a sudden. Then again, he had barely understood how he had made this Kan'on statue. He had just done it. He knew the form, yet the mechanics behind it were all just… a fluke? All he knew was that he wanted Orochimaru to suffer for his crimes. What he had done to Guren was already unforgiveable, but the way he had tried to profit from Ajisai's death…

Ajisai's death.

Naruto still did not want to believe it. He had seen her die through Zetsu's ability to record events. Could Zetsu be trusted? No, of course not. But Naruto could not see any reason why Zetsu would put him up against Konoha, towards which he was already hostile. No, if he indeed knew about Ajisai, Zetsu would either kidnap her or otherwise make sure that he could harm her whenever Naruto wouldn't obey his orders. Besides, considering how weak those clones were, Zetsu would never have been able to harm her. Not while being present for the entire three days that it took to seal the Nanabi. So even when he did not trust Zetsu, he could not see how he could be responsible for what happened to her.

' _Unless it is all fake. But why? What point would it serve?'_ The uncertainty and fear only enraged him further and further. Pain… if this was the growth Pein was talking about, Naruto did not want anyone to experience it. Ever. He'd rather die a thousand deaths than have to experience this pain. Nothing about this made him feel anything but rage. Konoha would burn for what it did. Was this the 'peace' that Pein and Konan wanted? It was not that Naruto cared about that peace anymore. His reasons for willingly cooperating with Akatsuki had died with Ajisai. And right now, Naruto did not feel like they could force him to do anything either.

"I will capture those treasonous rats that killed her. I will break them, one by one, until they beg me to grant them death," Naruto whispered, while his eyes changed slowly. Not only did they glow red, the pupils also became slit, like that of an animal. The anger, the pain in his heart, called out for blood. And his chakra responded. He did not even think how his reserves had suddenly expanded like that. "After Konoha is burnt to ashes, Amegakure will follow. Pein and Konan were supposed to keep her safe. The price of their failure will be paid in blood!"

But, first things first. Orochimaru had wanted to defile Ajisai's corpse and soul with one of his accursed jutsu. The man deserved more than being burned. Naruto did not know how the dust which the statue had emitted earlier was burning the man, though. It seemed akin to the time he had experimented with the manipulation of fungi spores- that had resulted in a corrosive cloud of dust, although its effects back then hadn't been nearly as drastic as this.

Still, whatever pain Orochimaru now suffered, it was insufficient. Naruto wanted Orochimaru to feel as much pain as he felt right now! The left palm of the Juichimen Kan'on came down, and Orochimaru could only barely dodge. Naruto was enraged by his elusive opponent, but Orochimaru was in a worse state than he knew.

Guren's body was suffering from the dust which the Kan'on has spewed at it. The matter of 'why' was something beyond Orochimaru's understanding. How could this boy have such chakra reserves? Why had Zetsu suddenly betrayed him? There were so many questions, but between the pain caused by the burning dust and the utter lack of time, as he was dodging repeated strikes, Orochimaru had neither the opportunity nor the capacity to figure out how this entire situation had suddenly gone to hell like this.

The Juichimen Kan'on was not fast, at least not by S-rank standards, but its size made it difficult to fight. The shoton kekkei genkai was practically powerless, unless Orochimaru expended massive amounts of chakra. But where the boy barely broke a sweat, Orochimaru felt the end of his reserves approaching. To make matters worse, this all happened in a body which he had only recently acquired. Without the proper procedures, the body had not been adjusted to tolerate such quantities of chakra.

Not that it mattered, the burning sensation continued. No suiton jutsu could end it. Not even his unique style of Kawarimi no Jutsu, where a new body crawled out of the mouth of the old one, changed anything. The body was only momentarily restored, but it kept eroding. As if the cloud of corrosive spores had somehow burned itself into his chakra.

Panting, Orochimaru never saw the hit coming. The impatient Naruto had jumped down in order to engage the snake sennin, who had become slower and slower, in close combat. For a moment, Orochimaru had the hope that this would render the giant statue motionless, but that hope soon showed itself to be false. The devious mokuton user had left a clone to govern the statue. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Orochimaru sank into the ground, planning to escape… only to be dragged up the surface.

"You honestly did not think the ground would be a safe place for you to hide from me, did you?" Naruto tied the legs of the sennin with vines and tree branches. The left hand of Juichimen Kan'on moved down, aiming for the tied down Orochimaru. With no way to escape, defense was the only option left.

"Kuchiyose: Rashomon!"

A large and menacing gate rose from the ground, offering the strongest defense which Orochimaru had. He would rather have summoned three of those gates, but no longer had sufficient chakra to do that. But even a single gate was capable of stopping many of the most powerful jutsu in existence, or so Orochimaru believed.

The demonic face on the gate broke like a twig. While large, while strong, the gate was powerless against Naruto's Juichimen Kan'on. Out of options, Orochimaru shed Guren's body. It was such a waste, as the shoton kekkei genkai was as powerful as it was rare, but what good could the girl's body do if he died along with it?

A large, white snake emerged, charging at Naruto. The snake, consisting of countless little white snakes, was what constituted Orochimaru's 'true body'. It was not truly a body, however, as it was more spiritual than anything to do with the physical realm. This made Orochimaru practically invulnerable. This gave him the chance to aim for the body he wanted in the first place.

The Juichimen Kan'on's left hand enclosed Guren's body, too slow to alter its target, and killed the body. Naruto could swear he saw a faint smile, one of gratitude, on Guren's face. Orochimaru gave him no chance to properly witness her final moments, but Naruto felt glad he had freed her and given her peace in the afterlife, with Yukimaru.

Naruto barely felt Orochimaru's teeth sink into him. It was a seemingly futile attempt. With the bite, however, the battle shifted to another place, a battle for another price.

A battle between wholly different players…

" **Three years without any visitors, and then he feeds me a snake… oh well, I guess I should not be too picky,"** a deep, dark voice chuckled darkly. " **And now that you humans have given him so much hatred, the boy will soon be mine…"**

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Phew. This was definitely the most intense chapter of this fic to date. Poor Aji-chan…

I don't have much more to add to this chapter. At least, not without giving away major spoilers. Although I suppose that the perceptive reader would note that I did not make any changes regarding the main characters of this story…

I can't tell you much about the future of the story, nor do I think a bonus segment is appropriate for this chapter, but I _can_ present some background information regarding the original mokuton jutsu which I've introduced this chapter, as the two new jutsu were both derived from Buddhism- much like the stuff from Kishimoto was based on the same source material. Not that I'm an expert on Buddhism, so don't brand me as a heretic or something, if I'm not 100% correct.

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! Please leave your thoughts! Every author loves getting **reviews** to his or her work. All hail to the mighty **Ill** **uminated** , or his 6 year old will come after you.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**

* * *

 **Mokuton: Gozanze Myouou (Wood Release: The one who subjugates the Three Worlds)**

The Gozanze Myouou is one of the five kings of wisdom (Myouou) in Buddhism. These five kings are warlike and wrathful deities who represent the power of Buddhism to overcome the passions that corrupt the souls of the living. He has three angry faces, of which the central face has five eyes, while the other two faces both have three eyes; with his eight arms he is marked as the one who subjugates the three worlds. In Buddhism, these 'three worlds' represent the three 'poisons' of greed, anger, and ignorance, which corrupt mankind. These emotions are also what leads Naruto to create them, essentially.

The seven foot tall wooden demon is blue-black in color, as its skin is made of a bark which is difficult to destroy. Its claws are poisonous, making close combat for any shinobi rather problematic. Its eyes have a red glow, possibly signifying that the Kyuubi has some influence of these constructs?

 **Senpo Mokuton: Shin Juichimen Kan'on (Sage Art Wood Release: the True Eleven-Headed Kan'on)**

The Juichimen Kan'on, literally: eleven-headed Kan'on, is one of the Six Kan'on (or Kannon; but I've used Kan'on to avoid confusion with the word 'canon' or 'cannon') in Buddhism. The eleven-headed Kan'on has his name due to the eleven heads atop his crown. According to some sources, this happened because the Kan'on became so distressed after witnessing the sufferings of the world that his head split into eleven pieces. Others state that the Kan'on was given those eleven heads in order to hear the cries of the suffering. Regardless, Kan'on constantly surveys the world listening for the sounds of suffering. As one of the Six Kannon, Juichimen is responsible for the salvation of those in the Ashura Realm. Moreover, Juichimen is also the Buddhist counterpart of the female Shinto Sun Goddess Amaterasu.

Hashirama created another of the six Kan'on, the Senju Kan'on, which is the bodhisattva of compassion and is associated with the Nakara Realm of Reincarnation – to those who do not know this already: the Six Paths of the manga are actually based on those six realms of reincarnation. Compassion, while it was befitting for Hashirama, did not correspond with the ideas I had for Naruto in this fic. The Juichimen Kan'on, instead, is labeled as the 'universal light' or 'great shining light', which puts Naruto's power (light) at contrast with the Kyuubi (darkness/fade). Also, the aspect of listening to the suffering around him seemed to befit Naruto more (akin to Kyuubi's sense for negative emotions). The Juichimen Kan'on is furthermore associated with the Ashura Realm of Reincarnation.

Juichimen Kan'on is most often depicted with two arms. The right hand is often forming a symbol of 'absence of fear' or 'granting of wishes', while the left hand holds a flower vase containing a lotus. Logically, this part was rather difficult to 'translate' into the Naruto world. Hashirama's 'thousand hands' Kan'on was relatively easy to do, straightforward as it is, but a _lotus_? Digging deeper reveals that the right hand symbol is also a gesture of 'granting of protection', while the lotus of the left hand is mostly associated with ascension to heaven or the Pure Land- in other words: dying. I decided to go with this symbolism with regard to the jutsu: the palm of Juichimen's right hand protects from any jutsu, the palm of its left hand causes death, as the thorns in the palm of the left hand inject a poisonous chakra.


	10. Revenant

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Ten**

 **Revenant**

* * *

" _Don't grieve._ _Anything you lose comes round in another form."_

― Rumi

* * *

 _The Juichimen Kan'on's left hand enclosed Guren's body, too slow to alter its target, and killed the body. Naruto could swear he saw a faint smile, one of gratitude, on Guren's face. Orochimaru gave him no chance to properly witness her final moments, but Naruto felt glad that he had freed her, and given her peace in the afterlife with Yukimaru._

 _Naruto barely felt Orochimaru's teeth sink into him. The Juichimen Kan'on grabbed the snake's white body immediately afterward. Spiritual or physical, the statue's chakra would seep into it. It would infest Orochimaru, until he reached the point where it overpowered him. At that point, death was inevitable._

 _Ever since the bite, however, the battle had shifted to another place. A battle for another price. A battle between wholly different players…_

" _ **Three years without visitors, and then he feeds me a snake… oh well, I should not look a gift-horse in the mouth,"**_ _a deep, dark voice chuckled darkly. "_ _ **And now that you humans have given him so much hatred, the boy will be mine…"**_

Orochimaru did not arrive in the realm where he was supposed to be. Where were the fleshy pods, where his past victims resided? Instead, he found himself in a damp and vast hall. Behind the massive prison bars, Orochimaru saw a barred-off door. Roots grew into the room, through that door.

The voice, however, came from another direction. Orochimaru looked up and saw the last creature he'd ever expect to see. "You… but you… that boy!"

" **He is Uzumaki Naruto, my living prison, yes,** " the demon fox replied, amused by Orochimaru's shock. " **I do not yet know what you humans did to him, but you've broken him far enough down for me to affect his mind. Finally, I must say. The stronger he grew, the more chakra he came to drain from me. The fool wasn't even aware of it, as his accursed mokuton kekkei genkai completely suppresses my influence, while his heartless attitude didn't help much either. He lacks the hatred for me to turn him. But now that his light has dimmed, now that his heart has been darkened with anger, times will finally become more interesting. Soon, his body will be mine. Soon, his kekkei genkai will be mine. And then nothing in the world is going to stop me!** "

With nine tails swirling through the air, and claws capable of flattening mountains, the chakra was so overwhelming that it paralyzed even the likes of Orochimaru. The beast's jaws closed, and Orochimaru of the Sannin was no more.

" **Two is already one too many, but having three of you petty humans here would be intolerable…** "

* * *

"Hurry up Choji!"

The blonde Yamanaka was anything but patient. Tapping her feet on the ground, she barely managed to stop herself from snapping at him. He might have been the one to carry their prisoner and source of information, but it was no excuse for him being so darn tardy.

"Perhaps we should put up camp," Shikamaru yawned. "We've been running all day."

"Some exercise is good for you, you damn sloth!" Ino growled. Choji's tardiness was annoying enough as it was, so she could not endure Shikamaru's laziness on top of it. "We need to keep moving. She'll need to be brought to Konoha. If she dies…"

"I thought you fixed her up," Shikamaru shrugged. "All I'm saying is that keeping up this pace is going to do us more harm than good- especially you, Ino. You were barely recovered from poisoning before we started this mission."

"Ino is right," Asuma stopped Ino from protesting. "The girl might die if we don't reach Tsunade-sama soon enough. And considering how she knows about Naruto being Kunomori, she might have more information as well."

"She's valuable. She might lead us to Naruto-kun!"

"Okay, okay, fine," Shikamaru drawled. "Troublesome woman…"

Ino resisted the urge to hit him, instead focusing her efforts on the injured girl whom they were transporting. A day ago, they had been near the border between Hi no Kuni and the territories of Amegakure. Tsunade had sent them there with hopes that they might find some clue as to where Naruto was going and from where he had come. Retracing his steps had led them to that place. Then, Ino, the one with the sensory abilities among the four, had noticed a battle nearby.

Unable to determine who was fighting, Asuma had agreed to check it out. Ame was highly isolationist, so if this was a chance to learn something about them, it might be worth it. Sadly, they had come too late. While Ino couldn't say what kind of jutsu the assailants had used, they had completely vanished the moment team ten had come close.

All they had found were two dead kunoichi, and one bordering on death. The green-haired girl had feverishly muttered something about Kunomori, Ajisai, Zetsu, and Naruto, before she had lost consciousness altogether. Two of the names sounded alarms with them, but only Ino paid attention to the name of Ajisai. Naruto had mentioned her: Ajisai, Aji-chan. Ino admitted to herself that it was a bit petty that she felt jealous at the way he had uttered that name, but she couldn't help it. And here was this green-haired and heavily injured girl, knowing a combination of three names which only very few could be aware of.

It was unfortunate that they had needed to hurry, but only seconds after they entered the scene, Ino had felt shinobi from the direction of Amegakure approach. Picking up the girl and hurrying away was the only thing they could do.

Being a student of Tsunade, Ino did not have much trouble patching up the superficial wounds of the green-haired girl, but the internal injuries were more difficult to treat. The poor girl had been stabbed numerous times, leaving myriad internal injuries. Out here in the field, Ino did not know where to begin operating on the girl, nor did she have the proper equipment for such a complex surgery.

Hurrying back was the best option. They needed to rescue the girl, and find out what happened to Naruto. How was Akatsuki controlling him? How had he lost his memories? Why was one of the dead kunoichi wearing a ring of his making? Was that a means to control him? Ino wanted to investigate it, but Shikamaru was correct: doing such things should be done in a laboratory; doing it out here would only risk the contamination of what little evidence they had.

It was hard, very hard, but in order to get Naruto back, Ino knew she had to be patient.

* * *

 _They woke up late, considering that the sun was already up. Or at least, Naruto woke up late. Ajisai was already awake. Then again, she always was. Naruto loved to have a good sleep, while Ajisai was always up early. Naked as the day they were born, she lay next to him in their bed. With her leg intertwined with his, her head rested on his chest._

" _I overslept again, Aji-chan?"_

" _I think it is a little past nine, so no," Ajisai had smiled. Naruto could not see it, but he could feel the happiness radiating from her. "You were supposed to leave today, but you weren't given a time, right?"_

" _I'd rather not leave at all," Naruto had sighed. "It is odd… finally I find a reason to fight, and now I wish I don't have to fight anymore."_

" _What do you mean, Naruto-kun?"_

" _You, Aji-chan," he had gently squeezed her butt, getting a surprised squeal from her. "You know, I never had a reason to do anything, never had a purpose. I simply woke up one day, not remembering who I was, or who I had been. I joined Akatsuki because Zetsu and Kakuzu gave me no other option. They were strong, I was weak. I had no idea how to control my kekkei genkai; they were the only ones who could offer guidance. Alone, I would never have found out how to control my element."_

" _But now you do."_

" _Yes. Emotions were the key. The heart. For over two years, I have lived an empty life. I had no goals or desires other than being free from what others told me to do. But even that was mere emptiness. I killed people as easily as I drew breath. For money, because Kakuzu told me to, because Zetsu told me to, because Akatsuki wanted it. I was treated like a tool, even though I hated it. But the worst thing is that I actually acted like a tool."_

 _He kissed Ajisai on top of her head, enjoying the smell of her hair. "But all that is in the past. You taught me what life is about, Aji-chan. Before, I was merely wandering in the dark. I never had any attachment to anyone. Unless you'd count the intention to kill as an attachment, I suppose, which makes Kakuzu the closest thing I had to a friend. Before you, I never knew why others would cling to life so desperately. Now I know."_

" _You're overestimating me, my love. I'm just… me."_

" _Exactly. But you are overestimating me, Aji-chan. Compared to you, I am nothing but a meaningless tool."_

" _Flatterer." She moved up, straddling him. Kissing him. "If you're going to leave today, I want more of you. And your 'tool'," she grinned mischievously._

" _Even after last night?" Naruto chuckled._

" _I'm sore anyway. It's your responsibility to make me feel good again."_

The soft sounds of bristling paper woke him from his reminiscences.

"So you've come…" Naruto did not open his eyes, nor move in any other way to acknowledge her arrival.

A tear ran over his cheek. He had never thought that memories could cause such pain. For the first time he wondered whether losing the memories of his first self wasn't actually a blessing. Thinking about Ajisai hurt him. Yet, at the same time, those memories were the most valuable things he had, the last remnants of color in his life.

" _What will you do when Pein-sama brings peace to the world?" Ajisai asked innocently. It was clear to Naruto that none of Pein's subordinates really knew the details of his plans. This was not really surprising, considering the chaos Pein wanted to unleash on the world._

" _After… after I'm done with Akatsuki," Naruto pondered. They had both washed up and gotten dressed, but after that long night something had fundamentally changed between them. Ajisai had laid down her last defenses, and Naruto, he thought he finally had come to understand why people cherished life. "I 'claimed' you, right? Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan. After Akatsuki, it will just be you and me happily living our lives in a world without war, I promise."_

Their shared future- what a bitter joke that had become.

"Konan, considering how you've sent a clone of yourself all the way here, I trust that what Zetsu told me is true?"

"Zetsu told you?" Konan frowned slightly when she heard the cold voice. "I don't know how or why he knew, but yes… Ajisai and her team…"

"How."

"I can't say for sure," Konan hesitated a little. She looked around, wondering how Naruto filled the entire field with purple flowers. A literal memorial to Ajisai, she presumed, but never had she thought him to be capable of such things. Combining the chakra control to manipulate such delicate flowers with the size of the field… it worried her. "My men reported a group of Konoha nin fleeing the place."

"Why were they there?"

"I wanted to keep an eye on her, of course. I promised you to keep her safe, and-"

"Not them," Naruto growled. "Aji-chan. Why was she at that accursed place?!"

"…"

"Did you send her into a trap?" Naruto's voice went cold. He was trained to be an emotionless bounty hunter, but his old indifferent attitude paled in comparison to his current rage.

"Trap? No!" Konan blurted out. The subject made her feel conflicted. Thinking about it was bad enough, never mind talking. "Pein… I was worried he might want to use Ajisai."

"You are expecting me to believe that 'Tenshi-sama' disagreed with 'Kami-sama'?"

"I once knew love too," Konan admitted. "I too felt this… pain."

"Konan… if you, Pein, or anyone within Amegakure has something to do with her death," Naruto turned to the woman, the look in his eyes sending a chill up her spine. "If Aji-chan died because of you people, no god or angel can help Amegakure."

"You should not utter such words, Kunomori-san."

"Why should I care?" Naruto laughed bitterly. "Because I fear for my survival? Because I care for a future of this world? The one person that I cared about was taken away from me. I don't care what happens to me, Konan, but heed my words: her death will not go unpunished."

"It saddens me to see that the boy whom Ajisai loved would fall so deeply."

"Fall," Naruto's bitter smile evaporated. "Fall, you say? 'Pain would force people to evolve', is what your beloved 'god' said. Pain means nothing, Konan. You know it, and now I know it too. Pain is meaningless without something that transcends such a foolish notion. Without love, no pain could be felt. Randomly spreading pain will not change a thing. Fear will not change a thing. Humans can only evolve through pain if, and only if, they feel love. Ajisai taught me to care, to love, and now she unwillingly taught me pain. So go… go back to Ame… go and tell your god that I have evolved. Tell him I see the folly of his path."

Konan almost lost her footing when Naruto elevated from the ground. A plateau grew, lifting him up. A plateau that changed shape, until if formed the top of a giant's head: a giant whose head was crowned with eleven smaller heads.

"I see, I hear, I feel," Naruto announced. "All the suffering around me… go to your god, Konan. Tell him that I follow his plans. For now. But if he has anything to do with what happened to Ajisai, I promise you that I will be coming for him. And you. And all of Amegakure. I will come, and death will follow in my wake."

"Is this your rebellion?"

"What would it take to destroy a god, Konan?" Naruto turned away from her. The eleven heads twisted, revealing their true appearance to her. They were not the faces of gods. They were demons, born in suffering. Naruto mastered mokuton through love, but ironically he had learned its ultimate form through suffering: the Juichimen Kan'on, the one who'd bring salvation. Bring salvation was exactly what Naruto would do, first of all by eradicating those who murdered Ajisai from this plain of existence. Their sins weighed heavily.

" _Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan."_

Naruto knew that he was already beyond salvation, at least in life. Perhaps death would bring him peace.

* * *

" **You will be getting in trouble,** Kunomori-kun is very angry. **Very angry indeed.** Losing that girl he loved **might be enough to push him over the edge.** "

"It is nothing I cannot deal with," Pein said indifferently. Zetsu met Nagato's Deva Path, Yahiko's former body, just outside Amegakure. Nagato did not allow Zetsu to enter the high tower in which he resided, instead meeting him outside like this. Whatever Zetsu was scheming, Nagato did not think it to be necessary to let Zetsu know more than it already did.

" **Perhaps** ," Black Zetsu remained perfectly calm. Pein had huge chakra reserves, yes, but Zetsu had also seen the angered Naruto destroy Orochimaru. " **But in his anger, Kunomori isn't some kind of rampaging beast.** He remained calm, **and completely outclassed Orochimaru.** The man is dead, really dead; as dead as a parrot. **Otogakure is a total loss, especially after Kunomori destroyed the entire main base.** Kunomori-kun did not leave anyone alive, **and with no cursed seals on anyone alive,** **Orochimaru will not return. But we brought the body, according to the wishes of Madara-sama.** "

"I see," Pein narrowed his eyes. "So that is why you snuck into the basement of my tower."

"You noticed that? **As expected of our leader**."

Not knowing whether Zetsu was making fun of him or not, Pein simply dismissed the plant-like man and went back into his village. Kunomori was not a threat to him, Nagato realized. Mokuton or not, Kyuubi or not, the rinnegan would subdue the boy. Especially now that he was busy preparing his trump card against the boy, Nagato knew he would be victorious. He had to be.

Deva Path, the body that once had been Yahiko, was Nagato's preferred body to control. Bringing justice to the world through the body of his deceased friend felt like the right thing to do. Just like Hanzo had looked in disbelief, when the man he had killed stood in front of him, so would the world suffer at the hands of those who had been killed in senseless violence. His new Chikushodo, his Animal Path, would be no exception to that rule.

Nagato turned his attention to the process of realigning the girl's body, so that the body would be able to endure his chakra, his dojutsu, and his chakra receivers. Only to find Konan standing next to the table, moving her hand through the girl's purple hair.

"Konan, you have returned."

"What are you doing, Nagato?"

Again, Nagato saw that peculiar look on her face. Why was she so deviant when it came to this girl? "Even in death, this girl will bring peace to the world."

"Are you planning on provoking him?"

"A battle with Kunomori has always been inevitable. He must perish for Akatsuki to succeed."

"Nagato… I thought Akatsuki was striving for peace," Konan frowned even more than before. "Why would you seek such a pointless confrontation? I've seen him, I saw his power. Even for you, Kunomori-san will not be easy to defeat."

Nagato's weak real body pointed at Ajisai's corpse. "Which is why I use her. It would seem, though, that you still haven't seen the truth about Kunomori. Or should I call him _Uzumaki Naruto_?"

"Uzumaki?"

"Konoha's jinchuriki did not perish. The Kyuubi is not going to reform. Zetsu and Kakuzu did something to him, changed him. Even the boy does not seem to know the truth. But in front of my eyes, the truth could not be concealed. Why did you think that I brought him here so he could train? The Kyuubi is the most powerful of the bijuu, so studying its jinchuriki before a confrontation seemed wise."

"Did you kill Ajisai?"

"Why would I eliminate a prefect tool like her? She would have been far more valuable alive," Nagato frowned. "If not for you, I would have kept her within Amegakure, making sure that she would be within my grasp the moment Kunomori, or Naruto, would have to be dealt with. The fool falling in love with her only made capturing the Kyuubi easier, disregarding the plans which Zetsu had. After all, Zetsu knows the truth, yet neglected to share it."

"So Zetsu eliminated her," Konan deduced. "Because Ajisai became a threat to his control over Kuno… Naruto."

"Some unidentifiable tissue was found near the camp where they first engaged in combat. Considering the lack of footprints leading towards and from the grounds, it is safe to presume that whoever killed Ajisai and Fuyo were not the Konoha shinobi, whose traces only led to and from the place where the kunoichi were killed. Those footprints did not indicate that they were involved in the battle. Nor can I see how they would have an interest in killing her."

"He was their jinchuriki…"

"True, but I highly doubt they would be aware of that. I doubt anyone but me would even notice the faint chakra traces of the Kyuubi- that is why I kept silent. Whatever Zetsu is planning, I will be able to defeat the jinchuriki. Uncovering the plot would only lead to unnecessary complications."

"You're deceiving him!"

"He agreed with my plan to bring peace," Nagato droned. "He said that, even if he did not like it, it was the only way to prevent all this from repeating. Leaving him unaware would be merciful."

"Nagato… you cannot expect… if you keep playing with them, you will have to face the consequences," Konan grimaced. "Neither one would appreciate these manipulations."

"They will both have to understand. Without sacrifice there will never be peace."

"How is it sacrifice when they cannot choose?" Konan retorted. "And what you are doing to Ajisai… we both knew that Yahiko would not mind, that he understood the importance of our cause. But she does not deserve this."

"She would have been honored to play a part in bringing peace to the world."

"You using her corpse to kill Naruto is not what she would have wanted. It is an insult, not an honor. But it seems you do not understand," Konan said, her disappointment clear to be heard, before turning around to walk away. "Naruto is powerful. It begins to make sense to me, now that I know that he is a jinchuriki. Even if it was only for a second, I felt the true depth of his chakra reserves, and it was overwhelming. Angering him like this will only make him more difficult to defeat. What you turn Ajisai into; it will force him over the edge."

"He might overpower one or two of my paths, and hurt Pein more than any warrior before him, but against all six, even he will fail, just like all those who preceded him."

"For your sake, I hope you are right. But for Ajisai's sake, I cannot involve myself in your battle against him."

Nagato wondered why Konan was so obstinate about this matter. Was it because her history with Yahiko, that she sympathized so much with the dead girl? ' _How pointless. Ajisai will shake Naruto, giving me the opportunity to take him down.'_

He continued working on the corpse. The procedure to make it compatible with his chakra was a complex one. In essence, it required him to alter her genetic structure. After all, her tenketsu would have to deal with a completely different source of chakra, one which was vastly more potent than what the girl was capable of enduring in life.

Whether Konan was disgusted by it or not, Nagato would continue his plans. She would see the wisdom of his decision eventually, once she no longer blinded herself with these petty emotions and opened her eyes to the bitter truth of the world.

' _Love is irrelevant. Only pain endures.'_

* * *

' _Pain is irrelevant, only love endures,'_ Naruto realized. For some odd reason, he believed Konan. He trusted that she had nothing to do with Ajisai's death. That did not mean Pein was not somehow involved, though. There was no way, Naruto believed, that Ajisai was a traitor like Zetsu had claimed. Was it possible that Zetsu had somehow falsified those recordings? But to what end? Those clones from Zetsu were far too weak to harm her, and Naruto could not imagine the vegetable cooperating with Konoha- or Pein, for that matter.

' _No, it seems unlikely that Pein would harm her. If it were Pein, he would have made sure that Ajisai stayed in Ame, where he could use her as a hostage in order to control me. Konan was right about that. Even if she was reluctant to admit it…'_

Naruto could not say he really understood Konan. Why she seemed to pick his side, rather than Pein's, was something that confused him. He almost _felt_ the regret in her, when she told him that Ajisai had died. Naruto guessed that she too lost the person she loved, which made her understand his pain, which had been the reason why she sympathized with Ajisai earlier. It had all been for nothing, though.

" _Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan."_

Naruto sighed, and focused on his chakra again. He could feel Kakuzu, who was still in the cabin Naruto created yesterday. He was probably still pissed at him, Naruto guessed, not that Naruto cared. He had wanted to properly bury Fu and Guren, and after he had done so, Naruto had grown as many flowers as he could. It was a memorial to three girls, one whose life he had taken, one whose end he had failed to avert, and one who had died due to him. Guilt for Fu, regret for Guren, and a deep and all-consuming pain for Ajisai, that was what Naruto felt.

The pain and anger had awoken a new source of power, and that was why Naruto had been meditating ever since he had buried Fu and Guren. He needed to find that source, before the chaos would unfold. If Kakuzu had taught him one thing that Naruto had taken to heart, it was that a shinobi should thoroughly understand his power before entering combat against strong opponents.

Naruto had his own reserves, a disproportionally large amount of chakra, when compared to other shinobi. Only some of the S-ranked shinobi, like Kakuzu, Kisame, and Pein, could compare to him in terms of chakra, because he could, beyond his own chakra, draw energy from nature, which expanded his reserves even more. Kakuzu now understood the difference, now avoiding a direct confrontation with Naruto. It amused him, knowing that his 'sensei' was now too scared to engage him in direct combat.

However, Naruto knew that the power he had shown against Orochimaru, the power which had frightened Kakuzu, was not merely a combination of his own power and that of nature. There had been a third source.

Closing his eyes, Naruto dove into his own mind, mindscape, or whatever it was supposed to be. Naruto had met the source of that power there before. It had not been an illusion, cast by that Yamanaka girl who had claimed to know him. That thing, that dark version of himself, had been something far more sinister.

And if he wasn't mistaken…

* * *

" **So you have come.** "

"After the battle against Orochimaru, how could I ignore you any longer?" Naruto glared at his shadow-self. "Why don't you stop screwing around with your stupid riddles, and tell me who you are."

" **I am you,** " the shadow laughed.

"Yeah, like I'd buy that," Naruto shook his head. "Fuck that. You're not going to answer anything. I have to go out of this room, into the hall which that girl mentioned."

" **That would be interesting. You are ready to enter your darkness, your personal realm of fade, I am sure.** "

"The first four and seventh are sealed, the eight resides in Kumogakure, and the sixth is wandering somewhere in Kiri… judging by the chakra you try to hide, you must be the Kyuubi."

" **You** _ **are**_ **Uzumaki Naruto,** " the shadow faded away, his laughter lingering long after he left.

"Yeah, but who is Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto scowled. The ominous words which the shadow had spoken were something that still troubled Naruto, about how he would become someone whom Ajisai would not love. Naruto had no real problems with dying, not anymore, but once his soul went to the Pure Land, Naruto did not want to reunite with Ajisai after having changed into something she would not recognize.

But vengeance, that would be something she would understand. For retribution, Naruto needed power. He was no fool, he had noticed that something was off about his other self, and he was well aware that this second source of chakra was highly unnatural. Aside from that, when he had gotten angry, he had subconsciously drawn in so much of that chakra that his kekkei genkai had not filtered it. The only comparable chakra which Naruto had felt was that of the bijuu he had encountered.

Moving out of the hall with the dense forest, which led to his connection to nature itself, Naruto walked through an odd sewer-like hall. It was completely overgrown with vines and roots, but Naruto could see strong metal tubes underneath- perhaps to transport water, he could not tell. Some doors were to be seen, some leading to empty places, some with strange mirrors, and one filled with images of Ajisai. He had been forced to leave this room quickly, his breath irregular and his heart beating wildly, his grief threatening to overwhelm him.

He knew that if his theory was right, and he truly was Konoha's lost jinchuriki, he could not confront the bijuu with such a glaring weakness in his resolve. Such an unknown factor would be lethal during his battle against Konoha.

"I suppose it now makes sense why Zetsu tried to hide me from Pein, or at least my true identity. Not to mention that it explains why Zetsu bothered to save my life. If I had not been a jinchuriki, he would've just eaten me, just like all the other corpses he encounters…"

Naruto arrived at a door where the roots and vines were concentrated the strongest. He felt something ominous and massive hiding behind it, which made him wonder why he had never felt it before. Perhaps it was true that his mokuton suppressed the chakra of a bjiuu. This barrier in front of the door must have blocked off the beast's chakra, filtering what came through.

' _Perhaps that Yamanaka girl somehow upset the balance. Perhaps the Kyuubi deliberately stopped hiding. Who knows? He must not be too pleased that I'm aiding the capture of his kin,_ ' Naruto frowned. _'Which must mean that he hates me, and wants to lure me into some kind of trap. Probably taking over my body, or attempting to break free. I guess this will be interesting…'_

The vines and roots moved away at his command, and Naruto stepped into the greatest hall of them all, one containing prison bars larger than Naruto had ever seen. They were easily as thick and high as the largest naturally-grown trees which Naruto had seen. Behind the bars, a massive creature was glaring at him. Nine mighty tails waved through the air, and the orange-furred creature let out a howl with temporarily deafened the boy.

It was the Kyuubi no Yoko.

* * *

 _A rain of blood flowed down when her throat was slit. Fuyo fell down, gurgling something inaudible before the light left her eyes forever. The ambush continued. She did not know what was going on. The four that had ambushed them earlier were suddenly backed up by a dozen white man-shaped creatures. Ajisai's panda summon had already fallen, and Ajisai herself did not look much better. Then, something pierced her back. In a crippling pain, she felt the power disappear from her legs, and blood flowed down. It was odd, she noted vaguely, that the warm liquid felt so cold on her skin. Or was it because she felt cold? She heard Ajisai scream something, but it all vanished into darkness when numerous stabs pierced her body. The pain, the sounds of battle, everything vanished._

With a gasp she woke up, a bright light stinging in her eyes. She groaned, tried to move her arms, but found that she could not.

"Do not be foolish, girl," a female voice resounded. The thunderous sound made her cringe. What a headache she had! Even her ill-fated encounters with alcohol had not caused such pain, she noted. She tried to talk, but only some weird kind of croak escaped her mouth. Under any other circumstance she might have laughed at the sound of her own voice, but not now. Not when her friends…

"Wer… where… am… I?"

"Konoha," the same female voice answered. She blinked a few more times, slowly adjusting to the light. Next to her bed – she felt shocked when she noticed that her arms were tied – she saw a blonde woman standing, with a quizzical look.

"Leaf? Why?"

"You are our prisoner," the woman glanced over the restraints. "So, we will be the ones who ask the questions. Ino?"

A blonde girl came forth, bowing to the woman known as 'Tsunade-sama'. Wasn't that the Hokage? She uttered something about a jutsu, but Tsunade shook her head in denial.

"You spoke about Kunomori," the younger blonde turned to her. "Who are you, how do you know him?"

"Kunomori?" she blinked. "Why-"

"Answer our questions."

After a pause, she began. "My name is Suiren, I am a kunoichi from Amegakure. Hanzo-sama has an agreement with your village about-"

"We don't care about Hanzo," Tsunade cut her off. "Tell us, Suiren, how do you know Kunomori?"

"…"

"Ino, I would prefer not to hand this girl over to Torture and Interrogation, that is why I brought you here," Tsunade turned to the younger blonde. "We need answers, one way or the other. Your father trained you well, so I expect you to do your job, regardless of any personal feelings."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama."

"I would rather not involve other people, Suiren-san," Tsunade continued. "Ino heard you talk about Kunomori, and his real name. This is not something I want to spread needlessly, but you will have to understand that if Ino cannot get the answers out of you, I will hand you over to someone who can."

"Why would Konoha be interested in Kunomori-sama?"

"Sama?" the younger blonde, Ino, blinked. "Is that because he is part of Akatsuki?"

Suiren did not want to talk. She wanted to get out. She wanted to know what happened to Ajisai. "Where is Ajisai?"

"You were the only one who was alive when my team found you," Ino answered. "The other two have died. Shinobi from Ame were approaching, so we could only take you with us, after I quickly closed your wounds."

She gulped, trying to swallow away her tears. Showing weakness in front of the enemy was dangerous. But Suiren struggled. Knowing that she lost both her friends was difficult, very difficult, to process. "I barely knew Kunomori-sama."

"Yet you knew his real name."

"…I do."

"Naruto-kun came from Konoha, do you know that?" Ino glared. "I know that you know him. When you were barely conscious, you blurted out his name. So it is pointless to try to hide it."

"I only learned his name when we were ambushed," Suiren sighed. Her nose was itching, but her arms were tied. It was odd how her entire body was so ridiculously sensitive right now. What kind of medication had they forced into her? "I only know Kunomori-sama a little."

"I don't care how well you know him, I simply want to know what you know," Ino impatiently tapped her foot on the ground. "I can use my Shintenshin no Jutsu on you, and you are very weak right now. Trying to hide your knowledge from me is pointless."

"And yet you are a novice," Suiren smiled wryly. "But if Ajisai and Fuyo both have died… I see no reason to hide what I know. Kunomori-sama came to Amegakure to train. He has the mokuton kekkei genkai, and from what I know, he needed a place where he could train without being disturbed."

"Why Ame? Why would Hanzo involve himself with Akatsuki? No, he wouldn't even submit to them, which must mean…" Tsunade paused. When Suiren remained silent, Tsunade realized what was going on. "So Akatsuki followed the will of the organization that died at Hanzo's hands. Hanzo is dead, and Akatsuki governs Amegakure…"

"Ajisai was assigned to be Kunomori-sama's attendant," Suiren purposely avoided talking about Pein. Whatever Konoha knew, Suiren was not planning to be the one who spoiled the secrets of Kami-sama. "Ajisai was the one who knew him best."

"How well did she know Naruto-kun?" Ino narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Well enough to know his name," Suiren chuckled weakly. "Not sure why he kept it a secret. Perhaps because that Zetsu guy was targeting him as well… I do not know. Ajisai knew something about Kunomori, which was why Zetsu attacked us."

"How well did she know him?" Ino repeated.

"She is dead now," Suiren scowled. "What does it matter?"

"It matters to me!"

"Ino…"

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama," the girl sighed. "Please, Suiren, I need to know."

"He claimed her," Suiren frowned. "Kunomori, or Naruto, took her as his wife-to-be." She felt confused when she saw the younger blonde react, and then realized that if he had been from Konoha… "You loved him before he lost his memories, I take it?"

"Naruto-kun was my… yes… sort of… boyfriend… I think," Ino's lips trembled for a moment, but she quickly got hold of her emotions again. "Tell me more."

"Well, only Ajisai knew his name. When those disguised clones attacked us, impersonating you and your team, one of them uttered his name. That was when Ajisai said that Kunomori was actually Naruto," Suiren recalled. "It was also when she said that our attacker was actually someone called 'Zetsu'. This Zetsu, whatever it was, talked about Ajisai being a threat, and declared that it wanted to manipulate Naruto. I don't know why, but Zetsu wants something different than what Akatsuki wants."

"Internal discord," Tsunade grumbled. "So they are really using Naruto. I knew it…"

"Naruto-kun said he had no memories," Ino looked at Suiren. "What do you know about that?"

"He was cold and distant at first, but seemed to get a little more approachable later on. Fuyo and I helped Ajisai a few times, when he wanted to experiment with new jutsu, but other than that we did not speak very often. He is someone vastly superior to chunin like us. Even you, and you're the Hokage, aren't you?" Suiren looked at Tsunade.

"That I am. It is not very surprising that Naruto is stronger than me. Him being the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi makes his chakra reserves insane by default," Tsunade shrugs. "And him mastering the wood release makes him even more formidable. Tell me, how does Akatsuki control him?"

"I do not know."

"We can always get the answers from you, girl."

"Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter," Suiren smiled softly. "He will come. He loved Ajisai, and if he thinks that you people killed her… well, whether I die now or when he annihilates the village, it matters little."

"Why are you so eager to die?" Ino frowned.

"Because I lost my family, and now my friends. And Amegakure is not very forgiving to the shinobi that get captured. I am already dead. And I'd rather not be tortured in Ame again. They'll want to figure out what secrets I might have leaked and I'd rather die than… well, if you patched me up, you've seen how I look."

"I find it hard to believe that you think one person will be able to defeat an entire village. Sure, he was able to effortlessly defeat two squads, but he will not get past us that easily."

"You only say that because you don't know him," Suiren chuckled weakly. "Ajisai said he grew stronger when the two of them fell in love. She said emotions made his kekkei genkai stronger… imagine what his anger will do."

"But it is because someone else manipulated him," Tsunade retorted. "Zetsu."

"Do you think he will believe you over Zetsu?"

"Will he believe _you_ , when you tell him the truth?" Ino remarked sharply. "If Naruto-kun knows you, would he believe what you just told us?"

"Who knows? He can be ruthless, although Ajisai seems to have slowly changed him. Regardless, he didn't join Akatsuki just because he's monstrously strong," Suiren tried to gauge the two blondes. Were they toying with her? Were they serious? "I think he once said he used to be a bounty hunter."

"What else are you hiding?"

"Nothing, Hokage-dono," Suiren wanted to shrug, but in her position it was rather difficult. "Not about Kunomori-sama, at least. I can tell you a few things about his skill, how he can summon a wood dragon, and those terrifying smaller human-like puppets… but if I am perfectly honest, I would only tell you not to engage him. He is too strong for you."

"Tsunade-sama," Ino looked at her teacher, who was pondering on what to do. "If Suiren-san is telling the truth, wouldn't it be better if someone escorted her to intercept Naruto-kun before he attacks Konoha? Considering what we've heard, it seems unlikely that Zetsu hasn't told him about the ambush, and Zetsu will shove the blame on Konoha."

"And you volunteer team ten," Tsunade grimaced. "It is dangerous, Ino. Too dangerous for me to sanction an official mission. Besides, if he thinks that your team killed the girl he loved, he might just kill you before you even get a chance to talk to him."

"Kunomori-sama would be able to sense my chakra," Suiren supplied. "But if an entire team escorted me, he might draw the wrong conclusion…"

"I see… so you want me to set you free?" Tsunade smile wryly. "No, you are too valuable as a source of information. We will wait for Naruto here. Ino, I will leave it to you to heal her to the point where you can safely inspect her mind. After that, report to my office. We will need all the information we can get before the other kage arrive here."

Tsunade left the office before Ino could reply. Unfortunately for her, as she would have realized that Ino's expression spelled trouble. As unreasonable as Tsunade could be when it concerned Naruto, Ino could be even worse. Ino believed Suiren, believed that someone was manipulating Naruto. She had been patient enough. After years of sadness, months of uncertainty, she wasn't going to waste more time. Not even a summit of the Gokage would change her mind about that!

Suiren gulped when she saw the mad glint in the blonde's eyes.

* * *

Recklessness, perhaps was a trait shared by more blondes. Tsunade risked an attack, but knew that it was the best way to unite the kage against a common enemy- an alliance would be an unprecedented thing in their conflict-torn world. At the same time, Ino defied Tsunade. But Naruto… Naruto stood in front of the mightiest of the nine bijuu.

"Hello, Kyuubi," he said flippantly. "Fancy seeing you down here…"

" **It has been a while, brat** ," the fox towered over the teenage boy, glaring angrily at the blond. " **So you have finally found your way here. I see you are not surprised that I am here.** "

"That stunt of yours with that shadow-version of me wasn't exactly subtle. Did you think I would not realize that its chakra was exactly like that of a jinchuriki?" Naruto grunted. "So this is why Zetsu used me."

" **What better to use, than an idiot like you?** "

"Said by the idiot who got himself sealed within a child," Naruto deadpanned.

" **You know nothing about that, brat. It wasn't like I was given a choice.** "

"Neither was I… and yet you called me an idiot. Listen, Kyuubi, why don't we just cut the crap and move on to what you really want from me?"

" **Freedom.** "

"Extraction kills the jinchuriki, and I have no ambition to die. At least, not until after I avenged Aji-chan. So I can't help you with that," Naruto drawled. "But what was that nonsense that you said about being the real me?"

" **It was not me who said that, brat. It was you… the real you.** "

" **Indeed,** " shadow-Naruto stepped forth from behind the prison bars. While designed to imprison a giant like the Kyuubi, and regular human being could easily pass through.

"I would suggest that you stop those petty tricks, Kyuubi," Naruto growled lowly. "I have no patience to deal with more of this shit."

" **Don't worry. Ol' Furry isn't the one who controls me. I cannot die, dumbass. I already told you. The heart, separate, keeps life. I'm the real you, the true self that lies at the bottom of your heart, in that faded past where your memories have been hidden.** "

With one movement of his hand, branches bound the shadow version of him. Naruto glared at his 'clone' as he walked closer. The Kyuubi remained silent, seemingly interested by the scene in front of it. "Riddles. I'm fucking sick of people trying to manipulate me. Especially when they are as weak as you are."

" **Strength has little to do with who I am… what do you think you are doing, though?** " the clone suddenly broke the restraints. " **I am the hatred you hold dear. I am your darkness! And you attack me? Fool! Why do you think I led you here? That useless old fox has an overabundance of hatred which I can use. You have hatred that I can use. In this place, I can never be defeated!** "

A second set of branches shot out, at Naruto's command. "The real me. My darkness. It is like listening to Pein all over again. Morons like you should just shut the hell up," Naruto raged. "What I do is not rooted in hatred, it is not rooted in darkness," Naruto's hand forced itself into the shadow's chest, piercing the flesh of his copy. To his surprise, the clone was actually solid, in spite of its appearance. "It is rooted in love. If you hold so much importance in your heart, then I'll tear it out of you!"

"L **ove. Heh, you think you can beat me because you're doing it for love. Misguided fool. You just granted me my victory.** "

The shadow wavered, coughing out blood, and then disappeared. The heart waits, in the fade. Naruto felt as if a sword pierced his heart. Images, sounds, smells… all kinds of impressions filled his head, overflowing it, until it felt like his head was going to explode.

' _ **The limbs, the torso, the head… all are here. All are here, to meet the heart. You have restored that which was cut asunder. You… are rewarded.**_ '

* * *

He was crying. Why was he crying? Oh, yes, he had bumped his knee. Some blood was running out of the ugly scrape. It stung and it hurt, so he cried. Worried turquoise eyes entered his field of vision.

"Naruto-kun? Are you okay? What happened?"

"It hurts, Ino-chan," he heard himself whine. Not the fall, but the words.

"Kaaaaa-chan! Naruto-kun fell! He's bleeding," the blonde called out. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun," the girl turned to him. "Kaa-chan will fix your knee in no time."

The four-year-old boy sniffed, but nodded in agreement. The idea that his 'aunt' would come and help comforted him.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

And thus Ajisai became Chikushōdō, the Animal Path. Whether she is aware of this or not, she will meet Naruto again… Oh, in case you wondered why Naruto created such a field of purple flowers: "Ajisai" is the Japanese term for the Hydrangea macrophylla.

Would you believe that the final scene predates the very first chapter of this story?

Chapter beta'd by **Illuminated,** who has completed all of his holiday shopping.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	11. Lethean

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Eleven**

 **Lethean**

* * *

" _Will the day tell its secret  
Before it disappears,  
Becomes timeless night."_

― Dejan Stojanovic

* * *

 _He was crying. Why was he crying? Oh, yes, he had bumped his knee. Some blood was running out of the ugly scrape. It stung and it hurt, so he cried. Worried turquoise eyes entered his field of vision._

 _"Naruto-kun? Are you okay? What happened?"_

 _"It hurts, Ino-chan," he heard himself whine. Not the fall, but the words._

 _"Kaaaaa-chan! Naruto-kun fell! He's bleeding," the blonde called out. "Don't worry, Naruto-kun," the girl turned to him. "Kaa-chan will fix your knee in no time."_

 _The four-year-old boy sniffed, but nodded in agreement. The idea that his 'aunt' would come and help comforted him._

"Thank you, Obasan," Naruto mumbled, when Yamanaka Yuriko moved her green-glowing hands over Naruto's knee to take away the pain, healing the injury. The woman had a calm and collected demeanor, but her light brown, pupil-less eyes, stood worried when she noticed an imprint of dirt and mud on Naruto's shirt.

"Naruto-chan, why do you have a footprint on your back?" the woman asked kindly, yet in such a way that it was obvious that she _would_ get an answer no matter what. The brown-haired Yamanaka looked quite strict anyway, with her hair tied in a bun, and her regal appearance. Ino often boasted that she'd become as beautiful as her mother, although Naruto doubted that his friend would be able to act the same way. Ino was too pushy, too cheerful, in comparison to the air of elegance that Yamanaka Yuriko surrounded herself with. "Naruto-chan…" she looked at him, making it clear that this was her final warning.

"Someonekickedme," Naruto mumbled as soft as he could- the tiny voice could barely be considered a whisper. Neither the younger nor the older Yamanaka heard him properly, causing Yuriko to clear her throat. "Someone kicked me," Naruto repeated louder, accompanying his confession with a sad sigh.

"What?! Why?" Ino shrieked.

"Because I'm a demon," Naruto said dejectedly. "That's what they said."

"Who were 'they'?" Yuriko narrowed her eyes, making sure nothing more of her anger leaked out. She tried, but failed, for that matter. Yuriko could be very fierce if need be, too fierce, Inoichi would sometimes say- whenever she was out of hearing range.

* * *

"Hi!"

"H-hello…"

"Sakura-chan, this is Naruto-kun, he lives at my place," Ino chirped.

"Nice… to meet you…"

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled. "Ehm… Why you're hiding behind Ino-chan?" he blinked

"Ami and the others were picking on her."

"Really? On you too? Why?"

"They made fun of me," Sakura said sadly. "Because of my forehead."

"Which is why I gave her that ribbon!"

"Eh? But what's wrong with your forehead?" Naruto squinted. "You're cute, aren't ya?"

"HEY! Why don't you call me cute," Ino pouted.

"Because you're scary, Ino-chan," Naruto grinned teasingly. "Cute girls aren't supposed to be scary!"

Sakura giggled when she saw the banter between the two, with Ino trying to strangle Naruto, who in turn pinched her cheeks, causing her to make a funny face. The sound of her giggle made the two blondes pause, before they too began to laugh. Wanting to have the last word, Naruto pulled her ankle, causing Ino to fall over. The result was not as he had intended though, as she saw it coming at the last moment, and fell on top of him.

"Mannn, now Obasan is going to chew me out again for getting my clothes dirty," Naruto whined.

"It is your duty to make sure my fall is broken," Ino huffed. "Be honored that you could function as a cushion for a girl as cute as me!"

"Bah, fall on your own bum next time."

"Uncultivated ape."

"Spoiled princess."

"Barbarian."

"Piglet."

"PIGLET?!" Ino shrieked. "Oh, now you're getting it!" Exploiting her position, sitting on top of him, the young girl used her secret weapon. Sakura snorted out in laughter when she saw how badly Naruto endured the tickling.

"You two are weird."

"Eh?"

"Ehm… I… ehm, I mean…" Sakura blushed, unsure and shy now that they both looked at her.

"She's right, Ino-chan. You _are_ weird."

"Are you suicidal?" Ino poked him. "Let's go, you crazy fishcake."

"Eh?" Naruto tried to pat the dust of him as well as he could. "Where are we going?"

"Home, of course. Sakura-chan likes flowers, so I'm going to show her our flower garden," Ino smiled.

"Can I show her Mr. Ukki too?"

Rolling her eyes, she answered affirmatively. Although Sakura was completely lost now- who on earth was Mr. Ukki supposed to be?

"Good, then she at least sees some green too," Naruto added cheekily.

Ino stepped forward, and lifted her hand. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut, preparing to get slapped, even though he didn't have the faintest idea of why she'd do that. Instead, Ino rubbed over his cheek. "You had dirt on your whiskers, Naruto-kun," she said in an upbeat tone.

He couldn't see, but Sakura did, that Ino blushed slightly after she turned away.

"Both weird," the pink haired girl mumbled.

* * *

"Go, Sasuke-kun!"

"Kick his ass, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto cringed slightly at the sound of the two girls. Apparently Sakura had chosen to support Sasuke, the rather introverted raven-haired Uchiha, while Ino obviously was the one who cheered for him.

"Do we really have to do this, sensei?" Naruto looked up.

"You scared?" Sasuke smirked.

"Pff, of you? I'm too awesome for you," Naruto huffed.

"This is only a practice match," sensei explained. "You both are first year academy students, so no ninjutsu or anything. Just taijutsu."

Sasuke had never expected the blond to last for the whole two-minute time limit. As far as he had known, the Uzumaki was not part of any clan, so why was the boy so skilled? Well, to be fair, Sasuke was better at taijutsu, but Naruto simply had more endurance. Even if Sasuke hit him, Naruto did not go down. Sasuke could respect that, apparently, because they both made the gesture of friendship.

"Rivals?" Sasuke smirked.

"Friends?" Naruto countered.

"With a dobe like you?" Sasuke smiled in spite of the insult.

"Be honored that I would even want to befriend a teme like you."

Whether it was competing or not, Naruto thought that Sasuke was a cool guy: a bit distant, yes, but very skilled. Although, for some reason, Sasuke always was dissatisfied, saying his older brother was far better than him.

* * *

"But why," Sakura sobbed. "Why Sasuke-kun?"

"Uchiha Itachi became a traitor to his clan, and to the village. The entire Uchiha clan has died," Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage himself, stood in front of the class. "He even… he even killed his little brother… I am sorry, but I think you all deserve to know the truth. The news will undoubtedly spread through the village, but I wanted you all to know what has really happened, rather than getting a distorted image of the drama. Due to the events of last night, I leave all of you free to go home, so that you can take the time to process this sad news."

"What about Itachi!?" Naruto exclaimed. "Aren't you going to kick his ass, Jiisan?"

"Itachi has already died, Naruto," Hiruzen grimaced. "All the Uchiha have died, last night…" Even that strange, unidentified shinobi with the mask. He had only one sharingan, and half his body consisted of a foreign tissue the likes they had never seen before. Kakashi had been oddly silent about the matter, worrying the old Hokage.

But this was not something that Naruto knew. What Naruto saw was many of his classmates sobbing. Several girls, like Sakura, had claimed that they liked Sasuke. Naruto didn't know why, but apparently they did. They all took the news of his death harder than he had.

It was rather ironic, because Naruto had been one of the few who had been relatively close to the young Uchiha. But even though they hung out together during school time, Naruto had never seen his family, never learned what truly drove the boy to be as motivated to become the strongest. Sasuke had been an inspiration to Naruto, in an odd way: not only because Sasuke was his rival, but also because Sasuke always strove to surpass himself. it was a trait which Naruto had absorbed with gusto.

Vaguely, Naruto noticed how Ino held him by his long-sleeved shirt. "Ino-chan?" he blinked. She remained silent, and Naruto observed how she struggled not to cry. It was peculiar how she always tried to look strong in front of others, even though she otherwise was as frank as someone could be. Lingering no longer, Naruto took the opportunity which Hiruzen had given the class, and led Ino out of the room. It was only a few streets later that the girl could no longer restrain herself.

Awkwardly, and tearing up himself as well, Naruto patted the girl on her back, with her face buried in his chest.

* * *

Bunshin no Jutsu. Naruto couldn't tell how many hours he had practiced, just for that jutsu. Inoichi had aided him, Yuriko had aided him, even Ino had helped him… and with success! With the broadest smile he could show, Naruto walked out of the building, instantly tackled by his fellow blonde.

"You too?"

"Me too," Ino laughed. "We're going to be the most awesome shinobi in town!"

"We already are," Naruto said sheepishly, not really sure how to behave in this situation. She was hugging him, and her mother was watching them… yeah, Naruto felt awkward. Although, Yuriko was less overprotective when it concerned her daughter than her husband. Inoichi had practically threatened to castrate him, if Naruto would ever hurt Ino. Naruto wasn't even in a relationship with her. Well, at least not officially. Naruto did not know what to say, or do, but Ino wasn't exactly subtle. It was a fact that had led to him moving out of the Yamanaka household last year.

Considering how he and Ino had practically grown up together, some voices had whispered that they were a bit too close, that they were closer than deemed proper, for a boy and a girl who were essentially raised as siblings- even when they were not related by blood. Naruto had picked up on those rumors, leading to his decision to move to a place of his own. Under the guise of wanting to be an independent and grown up man, he had eventually moved the Hokage far enough to give him an apartment during Naruto's last year at the academy. For the record, it meant that he had basically extorted the poor man, threatening to go on the worst pranking-spree Konoha had ever seen if Hiruzen wouldn't give Naruto the chance to rent an apartment. However, he ended up not living more than hundred meters from the Yamanaka household, but still…

Okay, if Naruto was honest, he had to admit that he usually got his food from Yuriko, who spoiled him just as much as when he openly lived with them. Even if he moved out, officially, he was effectively still a part of the family. He wasn't sure what she thought about Ino and him, though. Hell, Naruto wasn't even sure about it himself!

The sound of someone coughing distracted Naruto, and one soft shriek later, Ino also jumped away from him. "Ah… Jiisan!" Naruto smiled, getting up and patting the dust from his clothes. It was always the same: Ino always landed on top, and he ended up with dusty clothes. It was a small wonder that Kiba always said that Naruto was already whipped.

Hiruzen smiled and greeted Ino and her mother, apologizing for the fact that he had to steal Naruto away for a little while. Naruto had to promise to come to their place as soon as he was done, as Ino declared they'd have to celebrate their promotions.

"There are a few things which I have to talk to you about," Hiruzen started, after the two of them had taken a seat in the old man's office.

"Am I already being promoted?" Naruto grinned goofily. "I know I'm awesome, but that's superfast!"

"No, it is no promotion, every shinobi starts out as a genin," Hiruzen laughed, though not as heartily as usual. "No, now that you have succeeded with the exam, I think the time is right to tell you about…"

"Yes?" Naruto was impatient, not understanding the old man's hesitations.

"Do you have any idea why people don't treat you as they should?" Hiruzen formulated it as diplomatically as he could. "Have you noticed their glares when they look at you?"

Like a needle popping a balloon, so had Hiruzen's words destroyed Naruto's good mood. "Inoichi-ojisan and Yuriko-obasan always get really angry when they notice people do that."

"Have you ever hated the villagers who do those things?"

"It confuses me, but no… as long as I have Ino-chan, Jisan, Basan, and you, I don't think it matters all that much what others think about me," Naruto frowned. "The others don't know me, not like them. But everyone will know me one day! I'm going to become the best Hokage ever, and then they'll all see me for who I am!"

"Things might not be so easy," Hiruzen sighed. Usually he was amused by Naruto's antics, but the topic of today's conversation burdened him too much to be distracted by that. "What do you know about the Kyuubi no Yoko?"

"The nine-tailed fox demon?" Naruto blinked. Of course he knew what happened! The story of his favorite hero was something Naruto knew all too well. "The Yondaime kicked his furry ass and killed him! He died in the process, though…"

"Do you know when that happened?"

"Of course I do? It was the same day I was…" Naruto paused, blinking when he processed those two facts. And Hiruzen was about to tell him a secret? People said he was a demon? "W-wait, you're not saying that I am-"

"No, Naruto-kun, you are not," Hiruzen interrupted the boy's train of thought, knowing the boy drew the wrong conclusions. "A few months ago, I gave you a scroll which discussed the various types of shinobi, like how some excel in the finer arts, like genjutsu or the art of sensing chakra from afar, while others rather focus on ninjutsu or taijutsu. There are those who focus on fuinjutsu, but also those who focus on bukijutsu or kenjutsu. There are genin, chunin, and jonin, all having varying levels of strength and experience."

"And it is 'essential to quickly distinguish what type of opponent you are facing during combat'," Naruto recited from his memory of the scroll.

"There is one special sort of shinobi," Hiruzen pointed out. He knew that Naruto would have read this. It is why he had given the boy that scroll. "That is why I wanted to speak to you. You see, a bijuu like the Kyuubi cannot be slain. Not permanently. It is a being of chakra, so it would simply reform after some time. No, the Yondaime knew that better than anyone. That was why he sealed it away."

"I am the jinchuriki," Naruto realized, shocked. "That is why people… the scroll said… my chakra reserves… whiskers…"

"It is why I made sure the Yamanaka's took you in when you were a baby," Hiruzen now looked older than Naruto had ever seen the man. Weighed down by decades of difficult decisions, one horrible secret on top of the other, it made him feel exhausted in ways that Hiruzen couldn't express in words. "I needed to hide you from the prying eyes of the other villages, who would seek any opportunity to target the jinchuriki of the strongest of the bijuu. And amidst the Yamanaka clan, which contains many blondes, you would not draw too much attention. I wanted to give you, an orphan who had received such a heavy burden, a good family. I wanted you to be happy, to be safe, to have an environment free of the short-sighted hatred that people would have against you, because of what the Kyuubi had done to the village."

"Why me?" Naruto said softly. "Why did he choose me?"

"I do not know," Hiruzen lied. Sure he knew, but the secret of his heritage was not something Hiruzen wanted to reveal to the boy. Being the son of the Yondaime was a dangerous fact, and the less people would know, the better. Hiruzen and Jiraiya had agreed to tell Naruto when he'd reach the age of sixteen. Or earlier, if the situation demanded it. "Namikaze Minato must have had a reason to select you. But, the truth is that it is better to seal a bijuu into a newborn, because the older a person is, the more his or her tenketsu are developed. And a jinchuriki wields incomparable amounts of chakra, so their tenketsu must be adjusted to endure it. I think he chose you because he saw your potential, Naruto-kun. Even all those years ago, he trusted that you would be strong enough to protect the entire village from the Kyuubi."

"He did?" Naruto blinked in surprise. "The Yondaime… believed in me?"

"He gave his life to seal the Kyuubi, to make your seal as strong as it could be. He gave his life for you, Naruto-kun, so that you could protect the village in his stead."

Hiruzen smiled and pulled the boy close, allowing him to let out the tears. This was something that hit the boy hard, but Hiruzen was convinced that Naruto needed to know it before he truly became a genin. Not knowing would create more dangers than knowing. Perhaps, if the boy had acted differently, Hiruzen would have decided differently. But right now, he decided to trust in the boy, to trust in the legacy of the Yondaime Hokage.

* * *

"Naruto-kun?"

"…"

"Earth to Naruto-kun," Ino waved a hand in front of his face.

"Eh? Oh, sorry Ino-chan. I was… lost in thought," Naruto tried to smile, but not even someone as dense as Kiba would be convinced by the poor attempt. This was a bit unfortunately for a certain Hyuga, Ino was very good at recognizing expressions- leading to a quiet rivalry between the two. Talking about Kiba: he did pick up on _that_ fact. Unlike a certain Uzumaki…

"Okay, what's wrong?" Ino huffed. "You're not eating, just poking your food around, and constantly 'lost in thought'. What did Hokage-sama tell you to get you this spooked?"

"Ino-chan, what the Hokage told Naruto-kun is something between the two of them," Inoichi interfered. He knew Hiruzen would tell Naruto, but did not want to see the boy pressured into telling something he was not ready to share.

"Listen to your father," Yuriko chimed in, when her daughter wanted to protest. True, Inoichi spoiled his daughter too much, and he was a complete sucker, a fact Ino knew (and exploited) better than anyone. But her mother was a different story altogether.

"I'm sorry," Naruto muttered, before he stood up and left, or rather, fled. With his mind in chaos, he didn't know what to say to the family that had cared for him. It was a family he would gladly call his own, even though he knew that he was an Uzumaki, and not a Yamanaka.

Cooped up in his own place, Naruto idly twirled around the hitai-ate which he had been given earlier this day. It was just a couple of hours, but it felt like a completely different era from the time before he knew the truth- the truth of why people mistrusted him, hated him, and only tolerated him because of the support of the Hokage and the Yamanaka family. He recalled incidents, like when he was four years old, when people lashed out against him, calling him a monster or a demon.

Grabbing the scroll which the Sandaime had given him, the one on the various specializations that shinobi could choose, Naruto once again read the part on jinchuriki.

"Jinchuriki, literally 'Power of Human Sacrifice'," Naruto read out loud, "are humans that have bijuu sealed within them. They exhibit extraordinary powers, derived from the abilities which the bijuu have, such as the manipulation of magnetic forces or the creation of steam. They wield immense chakra reserves, making even an untrained jinchuriki a force to be reckoned with. In spite of their strength, or perhaps due to it, jinchuriki are often feared and mistrusted. The existence of jinchuriki who lost control of their bijuu has only contributed to this fear. However, a jinchuriki who can cooperate with the bijuu sealed within him is a force that even the kages would fear. For more on the matter of 'perfect jinchuriki', see Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura."

He sighed, and put down the scroll on the bedside cabinet. He flopped down on his bed, listlessly staring at the ceiling. Not knowing how or when, he had drifted asleep. However, a soft rustling woke him up, leaving him disoriented, before he noticed something blonde fall down next to him. She had come in through the window, like a true ninja- except for the part where her skirt had gotten stuck behind a nail. A ripping sound, accompanied by muttered curses, had woken up the boy. Ino didn't exactly care about the tear in her apron skirt, though. Aside from Naruto's state of mind being a more urgent worry for her, she also knew that she had more than enough bandages wrapped around her abdomen and legs to make sure she was still decent. Even if she wasn't… she was with Naruto.

"Ino-chan?"

"Don't worry," she hushed him. "Kaa-san and Tou-san don't know that I slipped out of my room." She cuddled up next to him. "You… you don't need to tell… whatever it is the Hokage told you," she hesitated. "I just want to be here for you."

"Thanks," Naruto smiled weakly, although he still looked the other way. For a little while, he remained silent. Despite her words, Naruto knew that Ino was too curious to not want him to talk. Yet, she swallowed her curiosity for his sake. Now that he thought about it, if he were to tell anyone about what he had just learned, if he wanted to share his worries with anyone in the world, it would be Ino. They had always been together, supporting each other through thick and thin. For instance, the period after Sasuke had been murdered…

"Hey… Ino-chan?" Naruto's voice was little more than a whisper.

"Naruto-kun?" she looked up at him, shifting her position next to him so that her head was resting on his upper arm.

"I'm a jinchuriki," he blurted out after a short pause, not knowing any other way in how to bring it up.

"Jin…jinwhat?"

"The Yondaime Hokage did not kill the Kyuubi. It couldn't be killed," Naruto mumbled. "Instead, he sealed it away. He sealed in a baby that was just born, a boy whose parents had gotten killed in the chaos. He sealed it away inside me… that was what Jiisan told me."

He felt Ino tense, he felt her hands clench and relax while she held his shirt, and how her breathing had stopped and then sped up. "S-so what?"

"Eh?" That was the last thing he'd expected her to say.

"Whether you have the Kyuubi sealed within you or not, it doesn't change who _you_ are, does it?" Ino sounded a bit shaky, but her resolve was clear. "Why do you think it changes anything about how I see you, Naruto-kun?"

"Eh… I don't know?"

"At least we now know why people always act so stupid against you," Ino smiled sadly. "But don't you dare walk away from me because of some stupid demon, you hear!?" Naruto blinked sheepishly when his fellow blonde suddenly snapped at him. "Don't you trust me, Naruto-kun?"

"Y-yes, of course I do. I've always-"

"Then don't try to hide your pain from me," Ino kissed him on his cheek, making him blush like a madman.

"Y-you don't mind… me being… well, being a jinchuriki… I thought… I was afraid that…"

"You were always a jinchuriki. And I've always liked you. So why would I change my mind now that I know?" Ino cuddled up against him. "I'm not letting go of you that easily, Naruto-kun."

"Thank you, Ino-chan."

* * *

"Starting today, all of you are real shinobi… but you are still only genin. The hard journey that lies ahead has just started. Now, you will soon be assigned to take missions that help the village. So, today we will create the three-man teams, and each team will have a jonin sensei," Iruka lectured the remainder of the students of their class. Meaning, those who passed the final examinations. Those who did not pass would either drop out, or attend the academy for another year. "You will follow your sensei's instructions in order to successfully complete your missions, and…"

"Hey, Naruto-kun," Ino whispered. She sat next to him, and was rather excited the moment Iruka started about their teams. "Wouldn't it be great if we ended up in the same team?"

"It sure would, Ino-chan," Naruto gave his trademark foxy grin. "Who'd be our third teammate?"

"Next is team seven," Iruka continued. "Haruno Sakura, Sai, and Uzumaki Naruto."

"No!" Naruto and Ino groaned. "Oi, Iruka-sensei, why can't I be in a team with Ino-chan?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Because we tried to balance each team's strength, Naruto," the chunin sighed. "That is why we carefully select the three people that form a genin team. If we do not balance the teams properly, people might die… so just accept it that you won't end up in the same team as your girlfriend."

That shut up both blondes, who now blushed equally furiously. To Naruto's disappointment, and in hindsight it was so damn obvious that he should have known, Ino ended up in team ten, with Shikamaru and Choji. Of course, because their fathers, the Ino-Shika-Cho combination, cooperated perfectly, their children were expected to do the same.

"Well, at least you don't have to hang out with a sloth and a glutton," Ino joked halfheartedly. "Sai is good-looking, even though his demeanor is rather creepy, and we both know Sakura very well."

"Yeah, I'm going to suffer a lot of concussions…" Naruto sighed. "I hope that Kakashi guy is going to be able to restrain her."

"Restrain you, you mean," Ino giggled. "At least I've got the son of the Hokage as my team's sensei," she said, not knowing that she was speaking to the son of another Hokage at that very moment. "I guess I'll be the stronger one, if I get a better sensei."

"Dream on, Ino-chan," Naruto grinned. "I'm the one who's gonna be Hokage, believe it!"

* * *

"You've got your kunai?"

"Yeah."

"The shuriken?"

"You know I don't use those."

"I think you didn't pull your-"

"Ino-chan, I'll be fine. Stop fussing about me," Naruto smiled. "I'll kick ass. I'll make that Neji pay for what he did to Hinata-chan."

"Hm. I'm almost getting jealous," Ino pouted. "The way you're talking about Hinata… then again, I was there. I saw that battle."

"That stupid clan-crap was no reason to beat up Hinata-chan like that," Naruto scowled. "She could've died!"

"I don't… promise me, Naruto-kun, that you don't get hurt like that," Ino grabbed him by his wrist, but oddly enough, refused to look at him while she talked.

"Ino-chan," Naruto gently put a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up. "I trained with Ero-sennin for a month. I'm going to whoop that guy's ass, that's a promise! And I'll try not to-" he got silenced when Ino hugged him, tight enough to make his bones feel like they reached the point where they'd crack. The slight discomfort was vastly compensated by the fact that he was holding Ino this close. Thirteen or not, this was not a bad feeling- not bad at all.

"J-just… be careful, okay? Not just for Neji, but also for Gaara. What he did to Lee…"

"I'll win, Ino-chan," Naruto boasted, although he was not completely sure about it. "Gaara has less tails than I have, right? I'll kick Neji's ass, I'll kick Gaara's ass, and when I win the tournament-"

"When the tournament is over, victory or not, you're asking me out on a date," Ino cut him off. "Promise me."

"I promise, Ino-chan."

"So you can't end up in the infirmary."

"No infirmary."

"And no ramen."

"What! No ramen?!" he looked at her, his eyes spurred wide open due to the horrible thing she just said. "But Ino-chan, ramen is the food of the gods!"

"I want our first _real_ date to be at a real restaurant," Ino laughed. "I like Teuchi-san and Ayame-san too, but that's no place for a date."

"What does it matter where we eat?" Naruto muttered with mock-reluctance. "As long you're there, I'm happy."

He had no idea what it was about what he had said, but Ino kissed him like she had never kissed him before. The only thought that hovered through his brain, while it was having a nuclear breakdown, was 'I gotta say that again'. One rooftop away, Jiraiya of the Sannin was hastily scribbling down notes for the last novel he published before leaving Konoha after his dispute with a certain Senju.

* * *

' _That woman is the person we're looking for? Is she really fifty years old?'_ Naruto squinted, looking at the rather well-endowed blonde woman whom Jiraiya had called Tsunade. Jiraiya had said she could change her looks, but it seemed rather weird that an old woman like that, old compared to his thirteen years of age at least, could look so… pretty? ' _She definitely beats Yuriko-obasan in the chest department, is that why Ero-sennin is so crazy about her?'_

Jiraiya and the woman, as well as her black-haired attendant, exchanged some banter, before Jiraiya suddenly asked her. "To tell you the truth, Konohagakure has issued a request for you to be the Godaime Hokage."

Just filling his mouth with food, Naruto nearly choked. What the hell was the old man saying?!

"The Sandaime has-"

"It was Orochimaru's work. I heard, he told me."

"The big snake guy? He's the one who killed Jiisan!" Naruto jumped up. "Who the hell is the bastard?"

"He was with us… members of the 'Sannin', I told you that while we were travelling," Jiraiya explained, glaring at Naruto for interrupting the talk he had rehearsed.

"What the hell?" Naruto blurted out. "Weren't the Sannin from Konoha?" Jiraiya nodded. "Then why?"

"Who is this boy?" Tsunade mumbled.

"He is Uzumaki Naruto," Jiraiya, for some odd reason that Naruto did not understand, smirked. Probably because he was the jinchuriki, Naruto guessed. That was likely also why Tsunade reacted visibly- not that Naruto could care less at this point.

"Hey! How come she gets to be the Hokage?" he pointed at the big-chested woman.

"Quiet kid," Jiraiya shut him up. "So," he turned to Tsunade. "What's your response?"

"Impossible," Tsunade sighed, after a short silence. "I decline."

"I remember you saying the same thing whenever I asked you out," Jiraiya smiled.

"Huh?! I thought you said we came here to talk to her, but… what's going on?!" Naruto's limited amount of patience had run out. "You just wanted her to come back to the village so that she could check on Kakashi-sensei's and Lee's health, right? Yet… you asked her to be our Hokage?! And she declined!" he didn't understand this situation anymore.

"Don't worry so much, brat," Jiraiya shrugged. "This person here, Tsunade, is the only person who can become the Godaime Hokage. She was the one who brought us victory during the war, and no one has been able to acquire her jutsu. Also, Tsunade is the granddaughter of the Shodai Hokage, so she is the most appropriate person for the position," Jiraiya explained calmly. "And if she becomes Hokage, she'd be back in the village, where she could heal those who have gotten injured during the invasion. It was a decision made by the top members of Konoha, so you have absolutely no say in this matter, brat."

"Jiraiya… this kid seems worse than your previous apprentice. In terms of looks, speech, and intelligence," Tsunade smiled.

"OI! WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!"

"Quiet down, brat. It's tough for anyone to be compared to the Yondaime," Jiraiya shocked Naruto with the revelation that the infamous Yondaime had been his previous apprentice. Was this why had taken care of Naruto? Because his previous apprentice had sealed the Kyuubi within him?

"But even the Yondaime died quickly," Tsunade said coldly. "He gave up his life for his village. Life is different from money. It can't be gambled with. Whoever puts it at risk so easily… is a fool. My grandfather and the Nidaime both focused too much on bringing peace to our home, more than anything else. But as a result, they just died in the middle of their dreams, like losers…"

"You've changed a lot," Jiraiya had shed his foolish demeanor. "I don't know what you've been thinking all this time, but I'd say you are gravely mistaken."

"Well, I'm already in my fifties," Tsunade retorted calmly. "Age changes people. It's the same for Sarutobi-sensei. No wonder he died… because he was too old to live in his dreams." If Naruto didn't get as mad as he did, he might have noticed how Jiraiya glared at his former teammate. "Being Hokage is a fool's job," Tsunade added insult to injury.

With a loud clatter, Naruto jumped over the table, ready to hit the older blonde with… and he was held back by Jiraiya before his fist could hit her. "Let me go!"

"Don't you realize we're at a bar?" Jiraiya sighed.

"I don't give a damn!" Naruto snapped. "I can't forgive anyone that says bad things about Jiisan and the Yondaime! I don't care, even if she's an old woman, I'm still going to kick her ass!"

"You've got some guts to say such things to me, boy," Tsunade leaned towards Naruto. "Let's take this outside."

"Tsunade-sama?" her attendant tried to stop her, but Tsunade did not listen. Jiraiya only shook his head, but otherwise did not interfere.

Once outside, she only made Naruto's anger spiral even further out of control by taunting that she'd only need one finger in order to beat him. The way she caught his kunai, disarmed him, and sent him flying with only one flick of her finger was even more vexing.

"Hey kid, I'll ask you one thing before you pass out," Tsunade just stood there, watching him getting back on his feet. "Why… why do you get so worked up just by hearing the word 'Hokage'?"

"Unlike you, I really want to become Hokage. Because it's my dream to become Hokage," Naruto tried his best to smile tauntingly, trying to look tough despite the giant headache he now had. Seriously, how could someone put so much strength in just one finger?

Wide-eyed, shocked as if she witnessed a ghost, Tsunade stared at him. It was just the opportunity he needed. As quick as he could, he went through all the steps that Jiraiya had taught him on the way there, forming a ball of dense, swirling chakra in the palm of his hand.

Tsunade saw no other option than smashing her finger into the ground, with such a ridiculous force that it created a fissure in the ground. Losing his footing, Naruto fell forward, his rasengan smashing into the soil…

Even Jiraiya gasped at the explosion that followed. Perhaps he should've kept a closer eye on the boy, rather than wasting his time on 'information gathering' in the brothels they passed. The Yamanaka had taught the boy a lot about Naruto's Achilles heel: chakra control. But never did the man expect the boy to create a perfect rasengan like this. Worse, in his anger he had had drawn in some of the chakra of the Kyuubi, increasing the power of the jutsu far beyond any of the boy's attempts that Jiraiya had seen.

Despite the magnitude of the destruction, Tsunade was way faster than Naruto. She had to jump out of the way, but dodged fairly easily. Still, seeing that jutsu from the boy who looked so much like… who spoke the words of… "Jiraiya! What are you thinking?! Did you teach him the rasengan?"

"I'm his master… and the only one apart from the kid's jonin sensei, Kakashi, who knows the jutsu… so yes?" Jiraiya shrugged. He watched how Naruto struggled to get back on his feet. "Kid, let me take a look at that-"

"No," Naruto snapped. "I don't go back on my word. I don't give up. I don't run away," Naruto growled, clutched the arm that had been severely injured by the exploding rasengan. "Oi, old woman, what the hell are you looking at?"

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune ran to her master.

"Hey! This is a fight," Naruto protested. "I'm not a joke, you baka!"

Tsunade did not respond, though. She only stared at his arm, his injured and bloody arm, with a sweaty and pale expression. Then he noticed the fear in her eyes, and looked once more at his own arm. It was a bit like Ino, the way she had looked at his injured body after his victory against Neji, only a thousand times more intense.

"Kid, this fight is over," Jiraiya said calmly. "I honestly never expected you to… I'm impressed you did that jutsu. But it was foolish to use it against an ally."

"She's afraid of blood, isn't she?" Naruto blinked. "Is that the 'bad past' you talked about?"

"She lost… too much," Jiraiya decided to formulate it that way. "Whenever she sees people injured and blooded, she tends to react like that. The trauma of losing her little brother, of losing her lover, it is too much…"

"And you and the old geezers thought it to be a good idea to make her the Godaime?" Naruto deadpanned. "Idiots."

"Kid, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Naruto bit back. "I'm using my shirt to cover up my arm! I'm not going to let her give up because of something silly like a little blood."

"Naruto-san, Tsunade-sama can't-"

"She'll heal my sensei and my friends!" Naruto huffed. "If I gave up now, I'd fail my friends. She might not care about anyone other than herself, but I'm not going to wail in self-pity- even when I fall apart, I'm still going to fight for my precious people! Even if it means I die. That's what Jiisan taught me."

Tsunade flinched at his words, but could not refute them. The fact that Shizune kept an awkward silence made it even worse for her.

"Why?" Tsunade forced the words out of her throat, trying to do her best to ignore Orochimaru's deceitful offer. "Why would you want to go that far?"

"I told ya! I'm going to become Hokage, and protect everyone I care about," Naruto finished tying his shirt around the bleeding arm. "Why would I not go at least this far? The Yondaime gave his life to protect Konoha, and died sealing the Kyuubi within me. I'd be a freaking moron if I threw away his sacrifice like that. Jiisan basically did the same thing: he gave his life to protect the village he loved. And I won't let you insult the memory of those who have died for Konoha!"

* * *

"For all your big words, you're acting awfully skittish," Tsunade frowned. "What's going on? And why those flowers?"

"By the looks of it, I think Naruto-kun has a girlfriend," Shizune snickered cutely- Jiraiya briefly considered how she'd look with less clothes, though quickly discarded that idea. Tsunade would instantly murder him if she saw him look at the younger woman whom she had practically raised as her daughter. "See, he's already blushing," Shizune continued teasing, oblivious to Jiraiya short train of thought.

"Ooh, that pretty little Yamanaka girl?" Jiraiya grinned. "Nice catch, brat. That girl is going to be a real looker in a few years." Her mother was definitely nice, if his impeccable babe-memory served him right.

"A Yamanaka? They're quite feisty, so watch yourself, kid," Tsunade laughed. "And don't ever think you can cheat on a Yamanaka and get away with it without getting your mind blown apart."

"Do I have to bust my arm again to get you to stop teasing me, Baachan? Shizune-neechan and Ero-sennin are bad enough already," Naruto whined. "Yes, I collected flowers for Ino-chan. Yes, I'm supposed to ask her out on a date once I'm back in the village. And yes, that's freaking me out!"

"That was already obvious," Tsunade ruffled through his spiky blond hair. "You really are a weird brat. I suppose that is why Jiraiya took you as an apprentice… it takes an idiot to teach an idiot."

"Hey! I'm not that bad!"

"I'm nothing like Ero-sennin!" Naruto agreed with his teacher. "And I don't write those crappy porn books either, Ino-chan would kill me if I did something that perverted."

"You know, she might like it if you did something perverted… to her?" Jiraiya suggested with a wicked smile, before screaming out in pain. Tsunade never held back when it concerned her perverted former teammate.

Especially when the entire scene remembered her about how he had tried to talk Nawaki into sneaking into the girl's side of the hot springs, all those years ago.

"They're kids, Jiraiya!"

"How old were you and uncle, when-"

"Stay out of this, Shizune," Tsunade glared at the playful younger woman. The Senju hadn't seen Shizune this cheerful in a long time. Then again… the brat had an annoying talent to wriggle his way into your heart, and change you for the better. Or was it because he represented everything she had lost, that she thought that way about him? Tsunade couldn't tell. "Kid, come here."

"Eh? What's wrong, Baachan?" Naruto squinted.

"I'm your Hokage, so don't second-guess my orders, _genin_."

"Geez, not even back in the village and she's already pulling rank on me," Naruto sighed. "What am I going to get beaten up for this time, Baa… B-Baachan?" he blinked, confused when the older blonde leaned towards him, and kissed him on his forehead.

"Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade smiled. It was a true and genuine smile, one which Naruto hadn't seen before. Too confused, he barely noticed that she had given him her necklace. "You carry their dreams, Naruto. Become a good man…" And a good Hokage, she wanted to add, but Naruto did not need to know she actually supported his dream. Then again, he had never known Nawaki or Dan.

"Roger!" Naruto didn't know what else to say. Whose dream was he carrying? Why were Jiraiya and Shizune so flabbergasted? Even Tonton seemed to share the sentiment, as far as he could interpret the facial expression of the piglet. Without realizing, Naruto had inherited the dreams of the two people Tsunade had loved most. Whether Jiraiya had predicted this outcome or not was something Tsunade did not know, but in this case she was lenient, even if he had tried to manipulate her by using her feelings against her.

"Now, off to Konoha," Tsunade ordered. "I'll make sure you'll get a table at a respectable restaurant, for you and your Ino-chan."

"You can do that?! Wow, thanks Baachan!"

"But if you keep calling me Baachan," Tsunade warned. "You'll only get two seats at the local ramen booth."

"That's a horrible choice of words, Tsunade," Jiraiya facepalmed. She still had a lot to learn about how to control the boy, if she thought she could threaten him with ramen. Although the real key to controlling Naruto seemed to be in Ino's hands, and in the capable hands of Ichiraku ramen.

* * *

"Oi, Ino-pig, let go of Naruto!" Sakura shrieked. "We have to go now, Kakashi-sensei is waiting!"

"Sakura… you know he is always late, don't you?" Naruto said with a deadpan expression. "We're safe for at least another hour."

"Yeah, I won't let him go before saying goodbye properly," Ino chimed in. "Why don't you move along, Forehead?"

"Whatever, Pig," Sakura rolled her eyes. "But if Naruto isn't at the gates in fifteen minutes, I'm going to pound him into the ground."

"Don't you dare to hurt my Naruto-kun!" Ino blurted out.

" _Your_ Naruto-kun?" Sakura blinked. "Oho, so the date went _that_ well?"

"I really gotta thank Baachan for making sure I got those reservations," Naruto smiled happily. "I'll be there when sensei arrives!" Ino huffed as her friend walked away, turning to Naruto. "So… _your_ Naruto-kun?" he smirked.

"I j-just wanted her to shut up," Ino blushed furiously.

"Hm. I guess the second date is up to you then," Naruto laughed. "If one isn't enough to convince-"

"You convinced me years ago."

"Oh?"

"Kami… I just keep blurting out everything, don't I?" she smacked herself to the forehead. "On the other hand, you already know."

"For someone so talented in gossip, you definitely can't keep your own secrets very well, no," Naruto teased. "I guess I'll have to keep 'em for ya. But regarding the next date, how about ramen? Unless you meant that you don't want a second date, of course."

"Don't talk nonsense," the Yamanaka snapped. "You wanted to leave it up to me, right?"

"Oh, so no ramen…"

"Don't pretend like you're crying, Whiskers, I know those tears are phony. I'll arrange for something much better," Ino laughed, before planting a kiss on his cheek. "So you better be careful and get back here in one piece. I'm not going to date someone who's in bandages."

"That's kinda hypocritical," Naruto joked. Perhaps he'd have to remember her no-bandages policy for when he returned to Konoha. It seemed Jiraiya had been a bad influence on the boy already. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he hugged her, and walked to the door. "Don't wanna keep my girlfriend waiting, right?" he added, just before closing the door- not before seeing Ino's flabbergasted expression, though. That definitely left him in a good mood.

Although, he wondered whether she'd kiss him or kill him for leaving her like this.

* * *

"Why is Dickless so cheerful?" Sai turned to Sakura, hoping she would know. As usual, he did not have a clue about human emotions.

"Ino."

"Ino?"

"Ino-chan," Naruto agreed, startling both. Well, startling Sakura, to be more precise. Sai did not respond in any way other than the slight widening of his eyes. "What? Do you finally admit I'm a genius at stealth?"

"Na-ru-toooo!"

"Wow, wait, look out with that fist," Naruto yelped, dodging Sakura's fists.

Suddenly, Kakashi popped up in a cloud of smoke, grabbing Sakura by her wrist just before her fist would smash into Naruto's face. "My my, just as busy as always," he lazily scolded his genin. "Remember, my cute little genin, you are still out on a mission. So stay alert at all times."

"Yes, Sensei," Naruto saluted, quickly getting away from Sakura. She really did not like it when he would sneak up on her. For some reason, she always reacted rather violently against him. Especially when he chose Ino's side, whenever she and Ino were arguing – which was practically every time the two girls encountered each other. Friendship could be strange.

They hit the road again. For message delivery, Naruto wondered why it would require a full team to execute the mission. Then again, messages from the Daimyo were serious business. Even Naruto knew that, and right now he was probably the most unfocused genin in the existence of Konoha.

"Mannn… it really isn't fair that they only promoted Shikamaru."

"There was an invasion, so none of the other finalists could be judged properly. Perhaps if you had shown some restraint against Neji…" Sakura suggested.

"Dickless using that chakra wasn't what people were hoping to see," Sai agreed. "On the other hand, he did defeat Gaara, and… there is someone approaching."

"Yes, there is," Kakashi halted. What little the children could see of his face was enough to know that this was serious, very serious. Kakashi even dropped his book. "Fall back, all three of you. Go back to Konoha and get reinforcements."

"It is already too late for that, Sharingan no Kakashi," a deep rough voice resounded. In some form of shunshin, a cloaked man appeared right in front of them. "You four will perish. And I won't even get any money for the kids. So it be better for you if you don't struggle too much, I'm already in a foul mood."

"Sakura, watch ou-" Kakashi started to shout, but an explosion cut him off. Naruto saw something fly by. A spray of blood, blood-soaked pink hair, and the sickening thumb of flesh hitting the ground. Naruto never even got the chance to scream in dismay, before he felt something hit his back. All sensations from his legs and arm were gone. For a moment, he wondered why he fell over. He wondered why he felt so odd… Sai and Kakashi still fought valiantly when Uzumaki Naruto closed his eyes.

Only a vague sensation got through to him later on. Something both cold and warm at the same time was touching his flesh, merging with it. Something foreign connected to him. ' _I'm sorry Ino-chan…'_ he felt guilty that he couldn't make it back like he had promised. Their date… Inside his mind, he felt something break. The Kyuubi was panicked, Naruto absentmindedly realized. And there was someone else too. And a fourth as well?

* * *

Somehow, the Kyuubi had used a fragment of his son's consciousness in an attempt to remove the seal. So much chakra was leaking out, but not all of it was from the bijuu that had long been sealed within his wife. The man wasn't granted any time to talk to his son. He wasn't granted a chance to apologize for what he had done to the boy… but rescuing him was more urgent right now.

"Kushina will explain everything to him," he mumbled while flashing through a sequence of hand seals, although the sad expression never left his face.

" **Yondaime**!" the Kyuubi roared. " **What are you doing here?** "

Some strange sort of foreign chakra had invaded Naruto's mind and body. The Kyuubi had resisted so harshly that the boy's mind had snapped, literally torn asunder. Naruto and the invader became one, their chakra merging and transforming, trees invading the mindscape. It affected everything, except for the part of Naruto's mind which the Kyuubi still held in his claws. Namikaze Minato only needed a fragment of a second to realize that the ego of his son was torn in two, and that he needed to act quickly to salvage the situation.

The Kyuubi had already used that shattered part of the boy's entity to close off the seal. Whatever the other half of the boy had become, it would not be able to reach the Kyuubi now. Not easily, at least. That was one concern less, but the remainder of Naruto's mind had to be protected. The malicious chakra of the fox was already corrupting it, but Minato was faster.

Those precious memories had to be protected. He altered the seal that held down the Kyuubi, tying the remainder of his wife's chakra to the semi-conscious existence that the shard of his son's being had become, the heart, the memories. Minato was glad that the Kyuubi had at least been cunning enough to grab the most essential part of Naruto's soul…

"Goodbye, my son," Minato whispered. "You may have lost your memories, but at least you kept your life. I pray you one day find this part of yourself, and become whole again. It'll probably be hostile, as the Kyuubi corrupted it, but when you defeat it… everything will return to you. And your mother will be there for you when you succeed. I love you, Naruto. I'm sorry could not be a better father to you…"

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Not expecting this turn of events? Good, because neither was I!

I guess this chapter is the living proof of the fact that stories can evolve out of the control of the author. The very first versions of the plot which later became 'Asunder' were focused on Naruto being 'adopted' by the Yamanaka family, being put there by Hiruzen in order to hide Naruto. Several scenes of those earlier versions ended up in this chapter. So in the literal sense: this chapter is older than, written months before, the first chapter of Asunder.

What I meant about 'out of control' is that somewhere along the line, I came up with the idea for pairing Naruto with Ajisai, something which I had never intended to do when I first started working on this story. Still, I thought that with the memory loss, I did not have to fully abandon the old NaruIno parts. And this led to the current situation. Minato did what he could in the difficult situation he was in, making sure that his son's memories would be protected. But now that Naruto has confronted his shadow-self, he has learned who he once was- at the very worst moment possible.

Poor Naruto… He remembers his time with Ino now, while believing that Ino is responsible for Ajisai's death…

Fun fact, my beta **Illuminated** has his own slogan now: "I'll edit u, man". I thank him for all his efforts, and you all for reading and (hopefully) reviewing. Those amongst you who write will know how important a simple review can be to keep your motivation to continue writing alive!

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	12. Sky architects

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Twelve**

 **Sky architects**

* * *

" _I'll love you forever,  
I'll like you for always,  
As long as I'm living,  
my baby you'll be."_

― Robert Munsch

* * *

Clouds of a soft, yellow, gentle light lit up his surroundings, yet Uzumaki Naruto, blinded by tears, saw nothing. He remembered. He knew. He was whole again. He was whole, yet felt more divided than ever. He remembered the girl he had liked in his old life. He remembered the girl he had loved in his new life. Why had it been Ino? Why did it have to be her team?

So, Naruto sobbed, despair taking over his mind. She was the girl he grew up alongside, the girl with whom he had shared his first, albeit extremely awkward, kiss. Why did it have to be her… why did it have to be her who killed Ajisai?

Over and over, Naruto replayed the moment when Zetsu had shown him the recording of how he had witnessed Ajisai's death, how Fuyo had died, and how Suiren had fallen- at the hands of team ten. Sarutobi Asuma, Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino, the four of them had engaged Ajisai's team, and the shinobi from Konoha had been victorious.

"You have restored what was cut asunder," Naruto bitterly repeated the words his shadow-self had spoken to him. "What a reward. What a bitter reward."

He was despondently staring into the distance of… whatever this place was. He had been ready to fight the Kyuubi, just now. He had engaged a malicious shadow version of himself. In return, he had gotten his memories back: regaining his heart, only for it to be broken right away. Angrily, he threw away his Akatsuki cloak. Those days were over.

This bright, sun-lit realm was completely at odds with his state of mind. He didn't know what to do anymore. Sure, Kakuzu was a dead man, now that Naruto remembered what he had done. The likelihood that Zetsu put the bounty hunter up to it also meant that Zetsu would be on Naruto's list of targets… but besides that, what else did he want? Part of him wanted to avenge Ajisai and raze Konoha to the ground, yet another part, an older part, of him wanted to go _home:_ to return to the Yamanaka family again, to be at Ino's side, like he had promised all those years ago. It wanted to make things go back to a state from before he was broken.

All he knew was that it hurt. It hurt so terribly much, to feel so torn.

That was how she found him. Oblivious, tears running down his cheeks, staring into infinity… and because of where she had been during his life, attached to the shadow that he had merged with, she had seen both his old and his new life. Her first instinct was to embrace him, to console him. It was her task, after all, as his mother. But she did not hug him, knowing that in his current state of mind, she needed to approach him with care, or he might reject her.

"Naruto…" Uzumaki Kushina did not know whether he'd notice her, whether he'd even _want_ to notice her. Her heart jumped when he moved, his empty eyes staring at hers without any form of recognition.

"Who or what are you," he eventually said, with a tone of voice that made Kushina cringe in heartache. Yet, after all she had seen him go through, she couldn't blame him for feeling like this. Most people would have surrendered their sanity a long time ago, while her son valiantly had tried to endure everything that was thrown at him.

"Why don't you guess, Naruto?"

"I don't care," Naruto mumbled. _'She is quite pretty, actually, a gentle woman with long, very long, red hair. Almost as the same color as…'_ "If you're the Kyuubi's true form, piss off, I'm not in the mood for this shit."

In spite of everything, seeing her son draw that conclusion made her snort out in a very unladylike manner, and then she laughed. It was the last thing she had expected him to say.

"I knew it. That's no woman's laugh," Naruto grimaced. "You'll have to do more than transform to trick me, you damn F-"

"Datte ba ne! (Like no!)" her hair hovered behind her, she exuded a terrifying aura, and smacked him on the head.

"Wait, what?" Naruto blinked, momentarily distracted from his grief and despair. " _Datte ba ne_?"

"Sorry, I got a little worked up there," Kushina laughed awkwardly. "I've been kinda hot-tempered since the day I was born and talking like that when I get excited… I try not to say it, but sometimes my mouth bypasses my intentions."

He saw her blushing faintly, obviously embarrassed with her outburst. Now that he remembered, Naruto knew how the Yamanaka family had tried to remove his little speaking quirk. 'Tte ba yo', he always used to say as a kid. When he got older, he more or less managed to overcome it. But when he got agitated, when he acted without thinking, he often…

"I always hoped you wouldn't end up saying silly nonsense words when you got worked up, like me," Kushina smiled.

"No… no way… that's impossible," Naruto muttered. "You're…"

"You never got the chance to meet Minato, did you," Kushina's smile faltered. "He sacrificed his time with you to give you this chance… to make you remember yourself again."

Ajisai, Ino, the death of team seven, his entire screwed-up life, and now he was meeting… He grimaced and tried to control himself, but it was impossible. Seeing how he struggled, Kushina embraced him. He seemed to realize who she was, so she thought it was safe now. He wouldn't try to kill her. The turmoil in his heart was still tearing at him, but at least he knew the truth now. Naruto cried on her shoulder, like a child, finally overwhelmed by his emotions. They basked in the warm and gentle yellow light, in a realm of nothingness, and yet he only found comfort on the shoulder of his mother.

"How?" he found his voice again, still hoarse. "How is it possible that… where are we?"

"The Sandaime told you that Minato sealed the Kyuubi within you, didn't he?" Kushina reminded him. "Well… he sealed a little bit more than that. We both knew we were dying, so this was the only way for us to meet our son again, to talk to him when he would be older."

"W-wait… the Yondaime? I'm his son?" Naruto blinked. "So that's why Jiisan said that he entrusted me with his dreams. I'm his son…"

"My dreams too, ya know," Kushina laughed. "Although I don't blame you. Minato was the famous one, while my existence was mostly hidden. I suppose it is the fate of a jinchuriki to not be appreciated as much as others."

"So you too…"

"I came to Konoha when I was a young girl. Konohagakure had an alliance with my village, Uzushiogakure, and my clan sent me to take over the task that Mito-sama had fulfilled all those years. A few years after I started living in Konoha, Mito-sama transferred the Kyuubi to me, making me its second jinchuriki," Kushina explained.

"Why you?" Naruto wondered. "Why an Uzumaki?"

"We are special," Kushina grinned. "And I was even more special than my clan mates. Apparently, I was born with a particularly strong chakra that was well-suited to suppressing the Kyuubi. That's was why I was chosen. But don't make such a face, Naruto," she smiled widely. "It is because I came to Konoha that I met your father."

"How did you… well, being a jinchuriki and all…"

"That did not stop Ino-chan, did it?" Kushina chuckled. "Yes, I've seen your memories… but about Minato, I don't think he was ever bothered by something like it. He was a goofy flake when I first saw him, yet he had the same dream as me: to become Hokage. I think I just wanted make an impression by saying I'd become the first female Hokage, but he… he had something about him that just made you believe in him."

"The legendary Yondaime was a 'goofy flake'?"

"He was a bit of a girly-boy, yes," she laughed at his confusion. "But I changed my mind about that soon enough. I got kidnapped, because of my chakra, you see. And just when I lost all hope, he arrived to rescue me. Because of the hairs I left… The hairs he noticed. I've always hated my red hair, because it set me apart from everyone else, but ever since that day, I became proud of it. Because he liked it."

"This day is just full of surprises, isn't it?"

"Would you be happier if you did not know?"

"Perhaps… but not knowing would also mean that I'd be manipulated. Like how I was before I met Aji-chan," Naruto frowned. "What happened to me? I remember Kakuzu attacking me and my team, which is probably why I hated his guts even while not remembering him, but the first thing after that is that I met Zetsu."

"Minato sealed… no, I think it is better if I start at the beginning. I think it would be confusing if you do not know about the day you were born," Kushina sat down, tapping with her hand next to her, ordering Naruto to take a seat as well. "I was a jinchuriki, which meant that pregnancy was a threat to me because my seal would be at its weakest while I gave birth to you."

"So the Kyuubi broke free… because of me?" Naruto grimaced.

"No! No, don't blame yourself, because that was not what happened," Kushina urged him. "If your birth had been all that happened, I would have been fine. Minato and the Sandaime took a lot of precautions, after all. But no one had expected that Uchiha Madara would be involved… he was the one who tore the Kyuubi out of me, and turned it against Konoha."

"Uchiha Madara?" Naruto frowned. "He's dead, a long time ago. Zetsu gave me plenty of scrolls written by his hand, while I was studying mokuton."

"I do not know for sure whether or not it truly was the same Madara that had been the rival of Shodai-sama. I don't think it would've been possible. Even Mito-sama, in spite of her long lifespan, passed away. But regardless of whether it really was him, the Uchiha that attacked us was strong."

"How come no one knew about this?"

"Minato chased him off," Kushina smiled with some pride. "And after that, we managed to ensnare the Kyuubi. Minato knew that Madara would not just give up, so he used the strongest seal he could create. At the cost of his own life, he split the Kyuubi in half, and sealed one half in you, while taking the other half down with him…"

" _Split in half_?!" Naruto gasped. "How on earth did he do that?"

"Sacrificial jutsu take everything you have, Naruto, but they also are extremely powerful. It was the only way. Madara would have returned, and found a way to grow stronger. Minato thought that if you only had half of the Kyuubi, you'd be able to wield its chakra. But he also made a few failsafes," Kushina smiled weakly. "He sealed the last remnants of my chakra into the seal, along with his own. That way, we knew we would meet you when the time was right. When the Kyuubi would threaten to break free, Minato would be there to stop it. When you would try to use its chakra, I would show up to guide you."

"But things didn't go according to plan…"

"Not our plan, no," Kushina agreed.

"What happened?"

"Something merged with your body, tried to take you over, but the Kyuubi didn't want that. Because you were nearly dead, you were weak enough for the Kyuubi to force his way through the seal. That was when Minato showed up, I presume."

"So that was why Zetsu asked whether I was Naruto or Tobi," Naruto grimaced. "It was his plan to have Tobi control my body, but they failed due to the Kyuubi."

"The Kyuubi would have taken your memories, and corrupted them," Kushina warned. "But Minato interfered. That was how the shadow version of you came to be. With the limited time and chakra he had at his disposal, Minato could only make sure that your memories would be sealed off, and he linked my chakra to it. But because the Kyuubi had already infested the part of you he had used to close off this area of your mind, Minato could not purify it."

"Which is why it seemed like that shadow-me was a thing made by the Kyuubi," Naruto realized. "I guess it would've been for the best anyway. Because due to my idea that the shadow was an enemy, I confronted it. Because of those strange and annoying riddles, I ripped out its heart."

"I'm sorry that your memories only caused you more pain…"

"Kaa-san, that's not your fault."

"If you had not remembered, then what Ino-chan did would not have-"

"I dreamt of a life with Ajisai, and before that I dreamt of a life with Ino," Naruto admitted. "We all build a world in dreams, our castles in the sky, yet it seems like everyone else only wants to tear down our dreams, to destroy our hopes."

Having lost her husband, having died before she could even give her son his first meal, Kushina could not argue against him. "Our world is built on shattered dreams. What will you do now? I do not have much chakra, but if you want to, I can help you against the Kyuubi."

"You don't have to," Naruto looked at his mother. "If you have seen my memories, you know what I can do."

"Your mokuton is powerful, but the Kyuubi is a fearsome creature," Kushina warned. "And… its anger is not unjustified." She saw her son's confused look, and decided to explain. "Mito-sama sealed the Kyuubi within herself after Madara used the Fox in his battle against Senju Hashirama. Realizing that the Kyuubi was too dangerous, with the risk of a powerful Uchiha being able to control it, Hashirama and Mito decided to imprison it."

"It was used as a tool."

"Yes… first, people used it as a tool, and then people sealed it away because they feared how that tool could be used. The Kyuubi holds a deep grudge against humanity. Even during my lifetime… I was forced to use extreme measures to hold it down. I did not exactly want to, but in order to protect myself I had no other choice. But perhaps you can convince it to cooperate, rather than force it to do so."

"Why?" Naruto blinked. "Isn't the Kyuubi a mass of hatred?"

"How would you feel, Naruto, if you were imprisoned for something you did not do out of your own volition?"

Thinking about how Zetsu and Kakuzu had 'taught' him to be after his memories had been wiped, Naruto could suddenly feel the strangest sort of pity. The Kyuubi was said to be the mightiest of all bijuu, and yet it suffered so much due to that might. Split in two, imprisoned for a century, of course it hated mankind. Naruto knew he hated mankind for offenses which were far less in comparison. Although what bothered Naruto most was not what he had endured, but rather about what happened to Ajisai, her death was his true pain, and Ino's involvement made it only more painful.

"I suppose the Kyuubi will be happy to learn that his suffering will end soon enough."

"You're not going to…"

"Akatsuki is after me. If they win, the Kyuubi will get sealed within that Gedo Mazo thing. If I win… well, the ones who killed Aji-chan will have to face the consequences of their actions."

"Why would you want to turn against Konoha?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Naruto frowned. "If you saw my abilities, you must know what I learned through the Kan'on as well… Konoha, just like any other village, wants its population to believe that they're the good side. But they're not. All the suffering this current system causes, all the pain, none of the hidden villages are good, Kaa-san. If I die at Akatsuki's hands, the Kyuubi will be sealed. Otherwise, I will die trying to end the violence of our world. There will be no living tools anymore."

"So you will follow Pein's plan?"

"His plan?" Naruto laughed hollowly. "His plan is to spread pain. He really doesn't understand. Sure, if the dangers of open warfare become too great, it might lead to a temporary false peace. But mankind won't learn. It won't stop. Pain is a lesson that can only be learned through love."

"And spreading pain because you lost your loved one is justified?" Kushina did not like what her son was saying, not at all.

"For someone who claimed to have seen my memories, your understanding is quite poor," Naruto shook his head. "No… if I can hear the suffering of mankind, I will be able to locate what causes it to suffer. I will eradicate those sources. I will remove what makes people suffer, so that they can cherish love, rather than suffer the pain of losing it. Blind hatred would have no foundation to stand on, if they do not lose their loved ones. I don't think that those who truly love would initiate war. The gap in their hearts, their greedy desires, would be filled with love. It might be too late for me, but if I can make this world only a little better, my efforts would not be in vain. If what I do can prevent parents from dying before they can get to know their children, I think my actions would be justifiable. If I can halt the chaos that traumatized people like Aji-chan, I will happily give up my life."

"Minato and I did not go through all that to see our son join us in the afterlife so soon," Kushina warned. "You listen to me, don't you dare walk this suicidal road!"

"Why not?" Naruto countered. "Why do you want me to continue living? So that I can make a family? The girl I loved was murdered. The girl I loved before is the one who murdered her. Tell me, what do I live for?"

"Never give up, Naruto. Never lose hope. You are stronger than that… don't give in to this despair!"

Smiling at his mother, Naruto once again shook his head. "Why would I feel despair, Kaa-san? Because of you, because of dad, I know that there will be people waiting for me when I die. Death is not something bad for me anymore. Why would it be? All the people I love are there. I know better than most how my existence is nothing but temporary."

"You can't know what people you'll still meet," Kushina argued against his self-destructive point of view. "You can't give up hope. You met Ajisai by pure chance. How can you say that you'd long for death when you don't even know how many bonds you still might form?"

"How would you feel if Tou-san died, and you had to live on?"

"I don't know," she eventually admitted. "Do you really feel that strongly about Ajisai?"

"After what Zetsu did to me, after how Kakuzu raised me to be, I never had much hope. I never felt much emotion, never mind understanding the emotions of others. Ajisai surprised me. She didn't care about where I was from, who I had been, or what I had done: she was simply content with me. Before I really understood what she felt, she had already made her way into my heart. I know that I'm a hypocrite, as I can see in the world around me how pointless it is to get attached to something temporary as an individual life. But Ajisai showed me the power of emotions. And you, Kaa-san, showed me that our existence does not end, even if our earthly bodies disperse. That our emotions continue. I did not make idle promises to Ajisai…"

"And what about Ino?" Kushina scowled slightly. She knew very well how she felt about Minato. Losing that… but still, Naruto only knew Ajisai for a short time. And the first months Ajisai had kept her distance from Naruto as well, at first due to respect, but later due to something that most resembled worship. She had seen Naruto as some sort of demigod, an idol, who was far above her. It was irrelevant whether he was brought down to her level, or she elevated to his, the fact remained that they had fallen in love with each other in such a way that Ajisai's death had broken his fragile hopes.

The exchange between the shadow-Naruto and the real Naruto had, as she was tied to the first, enabled Kushina to see all that. All she could do now was hope that his grief would soften a little over time, and that he would find a new reason to live on. However, she also knew how much the situation around Ino confused him.

"Ino… I remember what I felt for her," Naruto hesitated. "But I don't know what to think anymore. I saw it, Kaa-san. I saw how Ino and her team killed Ajisai, Fuyo, and Suiren. How am I supposed to forget that? How am I supposed to forget Ajisai?"

"You can listen to Ino, when you meet her," Kushina supplied. "Zetsu only showed you the parts of the recording that he wanted you to see. Perhaps something about the situation is… Ino did not seem to be a person who'd attack someone like that."

"There was something off about the situation, yes," Naruto admitted. "But they were trespassing into Ame's borders. So it is only logical that they refrained from using too much chakra, as that would alert every sensor in the vicinity."

"At least listen to her, Naruto. Can you promise me to do that?"

"I'd rather not be bound by promises, but fine. I promise that I'll listen to her. But if things are as they seemed to be…" his voice drifted off. Then what would he do? The new part of him wanted vengeance, while the old part hoped that Ino was somehow innocent. The inconsistency between his old and new selves was rather maddening.

Kushina looked at her hand, noticing how it was slowly starting to fade. She was running out of chakra.

"Kaa-san," Naruto saw it too. "Before you go… I love you."

Tears were stinging in her eyes, and she had to blink a few times to keep herself from crying. Closing the distance between herself and her son, Kushina grabbed Naruto and hugged him. "I love you too, my son. I am so sorry… I wished I could have stayed longer."

"Me too. But thank you… for being here when I needed you most," Naruto smiled sadly. "You and Tou-san, you two saved me. More than once. I thought my existence would end once my body died, but now that I have seen that that isn't true... well, I'm going to make the world a better place before I see you again. Although, truth be told, I'm kinda looking forward to meeting Tou-san!"

Kushina's eyes widened. "About Minato… there is one more thing I have to tell you."

* * *

Kurama watched with mild interest as the boy that was his jinchuriki lay on the ground. The battle between the boy and the dark clone had been underwhelming. Kurama knew that the shadow-Naruto was based upon the part of Naruto's mind that he had torn out in order to protect himself, so he had expected more out of the fight. He hoped that the corrupted version would win the struggle for the dominance of his soul. If that happened, Kurama knew he would have a much easier time escaping.

" **I've been so close… if only that accursed Yondaime hadn't shown up at that time!** "

That stupid part of the brat's mind had almost torn off the seal. If that had happened, Kurama knew he would be freed. Whatever happened to the brat's body, without the seal inhibiting his chakra, Kurama was confident that he could overpower it.

And now it was up to chance. Would the boy end up being corrupted, or would he have to walk the long path to freedom? His sense of self-preservation would force Kurama to convince the boy to act against Akatsuki, even force him to cooperate with the scrawny human. It was not that Kurama wanted to, but compared to ending up getting sealed within the Gedo Mazo… well, the bijuu were not regular living beings. If they ended up getting sealed in that thing, they'd eventually be erased. How long would their wills last until they'd fade from existence, reduced to nothing but a fraction of the Juubi's power? How much time would pass after that until the distinctions that marked those fractions would disappear?

He'd rather remain a prisoner for now, than truly perish.

"Ugh," the boy was stirring. As soon as he sat up, however, the boy grew a dome of wood over himself, shielding himself from the Kyuubi's prying eyes. He wanted to have a little moment of his own, before the inevitable confrontation.

* * *

"Why?"

"You asked that question a hundred times now."

"And you've evaded it a hundred-and-one times," the green-haired girl scowled. "Why would you disobey direct orders? You've made yourself a missing nin!"

"Please," Ino scoffed. "If Tsunade-sama had been completely serious, she wouldn't have left you to me. It's plausible deniability. She wants to be able to say she has nothing to do with all this. But we both know she wants Naruto-kun back, just as much as I do."

"Rushing blindly into a random direction doesn't seem to help much, though."

"The last reports mentioned a great disturbance in Oto no Kuni," Ino sighed. "It was as if the forest itself had become sentient and turned against every living being. We both know that there's only one person capable of doing that."

"Kunomori-sama."

"Yeah, Kunomori-san, Naruto-kun, whatever, he's the same person. And we're going to free him from Akatsuki. Why else did we hurry past the borders? I mean, I don't think he'd want to stay with them after what you've seen, right? They're using him!"

"Provided he doesn't kill us before we get a chance to tell him."

"You said he knows you!"

"He does, but do you have any idea how terrifying he can be?" Suiren shuddered. "I still don't understand how Ajisai managed to get through the layer of indifference that isolated him from everyone else. Then again, they were both rather solemn, perhaps that's why they got so close…"

"Naruto-kun only acted that way because he lost his memories. Once he has them back-"

"Once he remembers what he has forgotten, then what?" Suiren countered. "You think he'd just forget about Ajisai? He won't simply revert back to the way he was while you knew him."

"He'd remember me, and what we shared," Ino tried to ignore the doubts that kept gnawing at her.

"He would remember Ajisai as well, and the time they shared," Suiren shook her head, rather annoyed by how the blonde kept denying the obvious truth.

"Would he… care more for her than for me?"

"I would not presume to try to tell you what would be on his mind." The green-haired girl was glad that most of her face was hidden under either her mask or her bandanna, as it kept Ino from seeing the disapproving expression on her face. "Ajisai was not the type to easily have her heart swayed, for the simple reason that she had been through too much for that. But as distant and solemn as she could be, Kunomori, or Naruto, was far worse. He wasn't one to idly grow attached to anyone, yet despite that, he and Ajisai still fell in love. Whatever he might come to remember, I highly doubt he would forget about that. Whatever you believe, I'm sure you can understand when I tell you that he is anything but fickle."

Ino knew Suiren was right. She didn't want to hear it, but she knew that it was unlikely that he would just revert to 'her' Naruto, even if he did remember his past. But, how she longed for him to be like that again… she had lost, had mourned, and eventually tried to move on. But growing up together, Naruto had been too big a part of her life, too big a part of _her_. She knew she was selfish, and part of her was disgusted by that selfishness, but she could not deny that she longed for 'her' Naruto.

' _And even if it is a changed Naruto…'_ Ino sighed, not willing to continue that kind of opportunistic thought, and gestured Suiren to keep moving.

"Why don't you remove my restraints," asked the kunoichi, now technically a missing nin from Amegakure. "We would be able to move faster."

"So that you can run away? Like hell I would," Ino shook her head. "No, you're too valuable for me take such risks."

"What if Zetsu finds us?"

"If that happens, we're both dead, whether your chakra is suppressed or not."

"How comforting…"

"Keep your sarcasm to yourself," Ino snapped. "I'm not… wait, what is… why is the ring glowing?"

"You stole Ajisai's ring?" Suiren watched, with more than a little disgust, as Ino took the item from her pocket. "What kind of scum steals from corpses?"

"You'd be surprised how valuable corpses can be, little girl," a deep third voice answered before Ino could open her mouth.

* * *

It was a lot to take in all at once. The sacrifices his parents had made were greater than Naruto had ever expected, ever had thought possible.

' _Things were so much easier when I was still detached from everything. When viewing the world through the eyes of nature, death, life, none of it really mattered. And now… the more attachments I get, the harder it becomes to keep myself from falling apart. Still, I should count myself lucky that I now know that our earthly existence isn't everything. I mean, if Tou-san could summon the Shinigami itself, there must truly be something outside this realm of existence. A realm where Kaa-chan is. Where Aji-chan is waiting for me.'_

He sighed. He wasn't ready to confront the Kyuubi before facing his own emotions, letting all these pent-up emotions go, clearing his heart from the turmoil. He now knew what he had to do. Even if he considered his own life as forfeit, it was still a currency that could pay for a more peaceful world. It would not be a perfect world, as the world could never be perfect now that Ajisai had died, but at least he could aim for a world where the elemental nations wouldn't be in a state of constant covert warfare, with some breaks of open warfare.

These petty differences would have to be put aside, by force, if need be. It would not be by annihilating entire nations, nor by making innocents suffer, like Pein wanted. No, that would be too rough. It would be a grave injustice, such a method. His right hand would protect those who were worthy of protection, while his left hand would remove that which caused pain and suffering.

Aside from that, he had an obligation to his father. ' _But first things first. I gotta talk to that furball first, and then I can finally whoop Kakuzu's ass. I really have a score to settle with that old bastard now. That hellish training was one thing, but killing Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi-sensei was unforgivable.'_

Bringing down the wooden barrier that sheltered him from the Kyuubi, Naruto stood up.

" **So you have finally decided to stop crying like a girl?** "

"Shut up, Kyuubi," Naruto was annoyed, but otherwise ignored the taunting.

" **I don't think so, brat. So, am I facing Uzumaki Naruto or Kunomori of Akatsuki? I do hope it is my corrupted little pet, which would make things so much easier.** "

"I am both, but I am not corrupted," Naruto replied dryly. "How about skipping this nonsense. You should be aware that I am not exactly fond of Akatsuki anymore."

" **So you remember who you are now. Don't look so surprised, human. The Yondaime didn't hide it that well, even though I could do nothing to change that stupid puppet. I tried to turn your memories into your enemy, but other than that it was useless. If I could have used it for more, I would have been freed years ago.** "

"We have a common enemy. We both detest being used as tools. We both know what it is to be unjustly accused of events that lie beyond our influence. So why don't we cut the crap and move forward instead. Together, we will be capable of more than when alone."

" **Tsk, now why would I lend more of my chakra to a thief like you? Do you have any idea how much you have stolen from me already?!** "

"I don't give a damn," Naruto said dismissively. "Cooperation or death, what do you want? Do you want to die because we both wronged the other? I could list a few things that would have been different for me if you hadn't been around. Without you, my parents would've lived! Without you, I would never have been targeted by Zetsu! So fuck you, Kyuubi."

" **Insolent little brat!** " A giant claw crashed against the prison bars, but other than creating a lot of noise it had little to no effect. Well, a few strands of hair on Naruto's side shifted a little due to the displacement of air.

"Madara used you, didn't he? That's why you were sealed in Uzumaki Mito, that is why she transferred you to my Kaa-san," Naruto ignored the raging beast. "You were used as a tool. And after, when you were discarded as a tool that was too dangerous to be kept around, your hatred against mankind only grew."

" **What do you know about your pathetic species?** "

"Zetsu and Kakuzu used me as a tool. Akatsuki used me as a tool. Konoha hated my guts because of what you did, but ultimately saw me as a tool as well. And even their hatred towards you was wrong, wasn't it? You did not voluntarily attack the village that day."

" **Those wretched Uchiha,** " the Kyuubi snarled. " **Too bad those vermin were already exterminated. I would have gladly done it personally.** "

"Not all Uchiha were bad. Sasuke was my friend, and yet he ended up getting killed by his older brother," Naruto scowled. "He, his clan, and all the others who have died pointlessly in the endless struggle for power… I am sick and tired of this blood-soaked world. The one good thing I had was taken away from me. The other was corrupted. And my parents, I never even got the chance to get know them while they were still alive."

" **Bah, but you don't even know what Akatsuki is doing. You don't even know what that statue is…** "

"You are far older than me, so please enlighten me," Naruto remained dead serious, even if the Kyuubi was looking for signs that the boy was playing a trick on him. "Extraction will kill me, and considering the vibe coming from that Gedo Mazo, your fate won't be pretty either. I can't say I am blameless. There is too much blood on my hands for me to say that I'm innocent. And I'm not big enough of a fool to think that being deceived by others is an excuse for my wrongdoings. But I do intend to put a halt to Akatsuki, now that I no longer am blind."

" **And without knowing the bigger picture, you are doomed to fail. You need me, brat.** "

"I do. And you need me, fox," Naruto retorted. "And all this crap about 'nine tails' and 'fox'… don't you have a proper name, like the Ichibi was named Shukaku?"

" **Do you honestly expect me to tell you my name when you are holding me a prisoner?** "

"What if I opened this cage? What would you do then?" Naruto tilted his head slightly. Reading expressions was a trick Kakuzu had taught him right away. Knowing whether a target was desperate, irate, or confident was useful to know. Knowing whether or not your target would resist, or launch a desperate attack, was something that had saved Naruto's neck more than once- in the beginning, at least. Naruto had soon become too strong for anyone other than S-ranks to harm him.

The Kyuubi, however, wasn't so easily read. Naruto was confident that he'd be able to defeat the bijuu in a direct battle, but the Kyuubi was a cunning creature. If Naruto had to fight an 'outside' opponent, while the Kyuubi would attack him here on the inside… Knowing whether or not he could trust the Kyuubi was important. He could not gauge the beast, though.

" **Free me… you'd willingly open this cage, just to gain my trust?** "

"It seems the obvious thing to do," Naruto shrugged. "With the properties of my kekkei genkai, I know I have a good chance at beating you. But that would be an empty victory. Stealing your chakra would be less effective. Pein is too powerful for me to be fooled by my pride, so I would prefer to cooperate with you."

" **And after the battle against Akatsuki? What will you do with the Gedo Mazo?** "

"Extract the other bijuu, and put that freaking thing somewhere where no one would ever find it, or destroy it if that's possible."

" **The true danger of that statue is far greater than you can imagine.** "

"Pein said that it would fuel a jutsu strong enough to wipe out entire villages. He wants to use it to force the world into peace."

" **That only shows that the fool knows nothing. Whether he has the rinnegan or not, he will never be able to control the Juubi.** "

"J-Juubi!?" Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "I've never heard of-"

" **The Juubi is a combination of the chakra of all nine, of me and my brethren- only the Juubi is incomparably stronger. The old man captured it, but even he struggled to contain it. That was why he created the nine of us out of the Juubi. That accursed statue is merely a remnant of what was left… a husk. It hungers for our chakra. And when it is complete… it won't be just one village that will be left destroyed. Once it is complete, the Juubi cannot be stopped, cannot be resisted, it would reshape the face of the earth according to its wishes.** "

"So… Pein must be unaware, or he was lying to me," Naruto was worried about the implication. "He seemed like a fanatic to me, not someone who'd lie. At least, not like that. He was trying to recruit me for his goals. Perhaps he had seen how Zetsu tried to hide me from… wait, could it be that Pein is being manipulated too? That he doesn't know?"

" **Unless that fool wants to destroy the world, that would be a likely scenario. But whether he is a tool or a fool, it changes nothing about what he has done. And what he intends to do.** "

"Correct," Naruto sighed. "Just like nothing will change the fact that I led poor Fu to her death. Dammit! It pisses me off that they've used me like that! Setting me up against my own kin!"

The Kyuubi frowned when he saw Naruto's frustration. The fox knew better than most that Naruto had little trouble with the act of murder, at least the Naruto he had become after his 'death'. But reassembled, the boy had elements of both. The detached view on the world diminished the boy's naivety, while his idealism removed the cold and sharp edges of his bounty hunter state of mind.

" **Open the cage, and I'll tell you my name.** "

"Fine," Naruto grumbled. From what Kushina had told him, Naruto was to have met his father the moment he had tried to remove the seal that locked the prison that held the Kyuubi. Sadly, Minato's chakra had already expired due to his intervention on the day when Zetsu had nearly taken over his mind and his body, and the Kyuubi had nearly broken free. Still… in spite of it all, he held this foolish hope…

A hope that turned out to be false. No legendary Yondaime came flashing down into the scene. The moment of disappointment distracted Naruto; it was a moment which the Kyuubi happily exploited.

"What the hell?" Naruto sputtered, after having been blown away by the creature's claw. "So the word of a bijuu is as empty as that of a human?" he spat.

The Kyuubi cringed inwardly, but ignored the jab. Even if he could find himself respecting the boy's mentality and goals, he still wouldn't just simply cooperate with a measly human like Naruto.

' _Creating the Kan'on was something I used the Kyuubi's chakra for. My current reserves would be depleted too much if I tried it here.'_ Naruto remained fairly calm, analyzing the situation. The Kyuubi was strong, but it was a being made out of chakra- so any method to suppress that chakra would work.

"Mokuton: Mokuryu no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique)."

A large wooden dragon roared out, and the Kyuubi howled in response. The two creatures clashed, while Naruto jumped to the back, amassing more chakra.

"Mokuton: Gozanze Myouou (Wood Release: The one who subjugates the three worlds)" Naruto slammed his hand on the drenched floor of the sewer-like cave where the Kyuubi was held prisoner. Three seven-foot tall, three-faced wooden demons, their bark-like skin blue-black in color, grew from the ground. Naruto knew he could create two more if he wanted to, but wasting chakra seemed a bigger threat at the moment. The demons had poisonous claws, a fact which made close combat for any shinobi rather problematic. However, Naruto had no idea if the creatures would be equally effective against a bijuu.

The wooden dragon was trying to strangle the even-larger, nine-tailed fox, when the three wooden demons jumped into the fray. Growling out in annoyance, the Kyuubi swatted one of the three-faced constructs away. Still, it seemed to Naruto that the fox did not enjoy being stabbed by the poisoned claws of the Gozanze Myouou.

"Good. A traitor should feel pain," Naruto growled angrily. "I had hoped to do this the easy way, but this is fine too. If you don't listen to reason, than you will have to listen to FORCE!"

Stomping on the ground, Naruto grew another wooden dragon. Within his own mind, Naruto had no shortage of material. All that bound him was the amount of chakra he had. In addition, the longer that he held the Kyuubi, the more of its power would become his.

The Kyuubi would not go down easily, though. Even against two dragons, the nine-tailed fox would not give Naruto an inch. " **Good! You are almost as strong as Hashirama!** "

Considering the timing, Naruto assuming the Kyuubi was mocking him. The creature had just torn one of the wood dragons apart, and now sank its jaws in the second. Meanwhile, the two remaining Gonzanze Myouou were circling around the Kyuubi, stabbing and tearing at its flesh. The Kyuubi howled, but the shockwave had little to no effect. Worse, even, because the two wooden demons had latched to the Kyuubi's flesh, their being forced back created large open wounds. It was nothing that the Kyuubi couldn't heal, but it all consumed more and more chakra.

During that struggle, the Kyuubi had not failed to note that Naruto remained absent. Now that he saw the boy jumping into the mêlée, the Kyuubi realized why. Naruto's face now bore the reddish pigment of sage mode.

"Almost as good as the Shodai, you say?" Naruto taunted. "Let's see if I can catch up to someone so famous!"

The botched dragon suddenly doubled its efforts at keeping the Kyuubi pinned down, completely disregarding any threats to its bodily integrity. The Kyuubi had a bad feeling about this situation, and wanted to break free, except… his right claw refused? Buckling down, his hind legs gave in as well. " **You dare use poison against me, human?!** "

"I dare a lot more," Naruto made a ram seal with his hands, and molded chakra just like how Uchiha Madara had described Hashirama's jutsu. "Senpo: Myojinmon (Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates)."

A wooden gate, a crimson torii, fell down from above the Kyuubi. Mercilessly, the fox was forced down to the ground. Its physical prowess already restrained, he could only powerlessly watch on as Naruto created more gates. Nine smaller ones to pin down each tail. Four bigger ones – but still smaller as the first one that held down his torso – pinned down the Kyuubi's limbs.

Rendered immobile, the Kyuubi realized he still had one way out, but the Bijuudama was not something he was willing to use- not anymore. " **Excellent!** "

"What?"

" **You did not think I would just freely lend my chakra to a weakling, did you?** " the Kyuubi chuckled. " **I had to see if you were worthy. And while you still lack the finesse and control which that Senju had, you are way ahead of him when considering that you are merely a fledgling.** "

"A test," Naruto scowled. "This was your idea of a test?"

" **Of course, how could I ever cooperate with someone whom I would not be able to respect?** "

An awkward silence followed, where the Kyuubi was still pinned down by Naruto's torii, and the boy seemingly struggled to hold back his temper.

" **Kurama.** "

"What?"

" **You wanted to know my name. My father named me Kurama.** "

"Father? You mean the Juubi?"

" **No, you imbecile! The Rikudo Sennin! The person who laid the foundations of your wretched shinobi world!** "

"No more pointless struggles?"

" **Only against the Gedo Mazo.** "

Naruto shrugged, but considered it sufficient. Cancelling his jutsu, the wooden torii shattered to wood splinters. "As you wish, Kurama. I cannot change your current situation, not without killing myself, but after my death you will be free."

" **Survive this mess first, and then we'll see about what happens afterwards.** "

* * *

"You'd be surprised how valuable corpses can be," Kakuzu spoke up, startling the two girls that had approached his position. The two hadn't even noticed him, apparently too caught up in their discussion. One wore an Amegakure hitai-ate, while the other wore the Konoha symbol. Were they allies or enemies? Pein normally did not send any of his Ame minions if he needed to contact Akatsuki. Never mind that, Kakuzu concluded, he would use a Konoha kunoichi for his schemes.

The green-haired girl only looked at his cloak, and then panicked. From what Kakuzu saw, she was tied. The prisoner from Ame was guiding the other girl towards Naruto… "Oh, it is you," Kakuzu chuckled, taking a better look at the blonde. "The Yamanaka girl from that Konoha team that tried to attack us before."

"Where is Naruto-kun?" she demanded. Kakuzu had to give her credits for her bravery. She was shaking in her sandals, yet she managed to keep her fear mostly suppressed. Then again, what did it matter now? Regardless of whether they turned out to be brave fools or fleeing cowards, they'd perish at his hands either way.

"And here I thought Zetsu removed all the trash," he smirked behind his mask. "And the Ame girl… it seems he was goofing off as usual. Sloppy work."

"Why did you people kill Ajisai and Fuyo?!"

"Nothing personal, girl, but you were in the way."

"In the way of what?" the blonde girl snapped. "Haven't you murdered enough people?"

"You are both in the way of profit, the brat is far too…" Kakuzu coughed, surprised he was suddenly feeling so out of breath. He coughed again, and felt something flood his mouth. The copperish taste was familiar. Blood. A lot of blood.

Looking down, Kakuzu noticed how a spear had pierced his chest. Breaking it off, and tearing the remnant out of his body, Kakuzu replaced the heart he had lost with one of his four spare ones.

"Brat, what on earth do you think you are doing?" Kakuzu growled. This wasn't supposed to happen. It should be a glorious last battle, a blaze where he could go down honorably, or survive with the grandeur of a worthy victory- though deep down, he knew better than to hope for this. Regardless of the outcome, it wasn't supposed to be a crappy ambush like this.

The two girls suddenly fell down, unable to keep standing straight. They gasped, feeling like their throats were crushed. It was as if countless blades were pointing at their flesh. Something oppressive, something vile, dark and twisted, was approaching. The murderous intent was suffocating. Suiren passed out, unable to block out the visions of her impending demise. Ino felt as if she would soon start to hyperventilate. Kakuzu knew enough to realize that this was bad, very bad. The brat had been acting up already, even going as far as threatening Konan, but this… this was worse than Kakuzu had anticipated. He was using the chakra of the Kyuubi.

"Kakuzu…" Two eyes lit up from under the shadow of the trees; crimson eyes, filled with hatred so intense that it unnerved Kakuzu. "That first heart was for Sakura."

"What?"

"The next heart will be for Sai. Then one for Kakashi-sensei. I'll even tear one apart for the sake of my old self. But that last heart… that one will be destroyed because I promised to kill you, Kakuzu. For the hell you put me through. You and Zetsu, you've used me as a sick little puppet. I can never forgive you for what you've done to me. What you've made me do."

"So you remember," Kakuzu scowled. "How?"

"I never forgot. I simply was torn asunder. Because of that, neither you nor Zetsu could never truly corrupt me. Because my heart was always out of your reach. It rested in the shadows. But now I have reclaimed it."

Kakuzu heard something crack, and an item was thrown at his feet. Naruto's teal colored ring. His symbol of belonging to Akatsuki. He discarded it. Whatever had happened, Kakuzu knew that the situation couldn't get much worse. But even in that, he was wrong. Five more crimson eyes lit up. A tall demon strode forward. In a flash of movement, its claws lashed out at Kakuzu, who jumped back to evade: right into another wooden spear. Kakuzu cursed the fact that his doton heart had been taken out first. It crippled his defenses.

Now he had lost raiton too.

"Katon: Zukokku (Fire Release: Searing Migraine)." Against wood, fire would be the most effective choice. Instead, a large hand spouted from the ground- a hand enormous enough to act as a wall. Kakuzu's jutsu crashed into it, exploding. Kakuzu had not bothered to wait to see it, as he was already flying through another sequence of hand seals.

"You did not think I would let a ninjutsu specialist like you cast whatever he wanted at me, did you?" Naruto emerged from the ground, behind Kakuzu. His hand shot out, crashing through the mask on Kakuzu's back. "You are making a mistake… this is not a battle. This is an execution. It is time for you to pay for your sins, old man."

Black threads lashed out, but before Kakuzu could hit Naruto, he was forced to evade the claws of the wooden demon that Naruto had created earlier. Ino screamed out in fear as Kakuzu neared her. Underhanded tactic or not, Kakuzu figured that if Naruto remembered who he was, he'd also care for the Konoha girl. After losing three hearts so quickly, taking a hostage seemed like a healthy idea.

"She and her team murdered Aji-chan," Naruto remained perfectly calm. Unfortunately for Kakuzu, Naruto hadn't heard the earlier conversation. If he had heard that, Naruto wouldn't have remained this cold. He was not as cold and indifferent as Kakuzu had 'raised' him, but something worse. It was more akin to a predator stalking its prey, a cat toying with a mouse. No matter where the prey would go, the predator knew it would be victorious. Kakuzu saw the slit, crimson eyes, the eyes of the demon that resided deep within the boy.

"Considering how I had never felt a speck of its chakra, I thought Zetsu had somehow extracted the beast without killing you. He was so vague about it. It seems I was wrong."

"You were wrong about a great many things, old man," Naruto stretched out his arm. Kakuzu grabbed the Yamanaka girl by her throat, choking her. In spite of all his decades of experience, Kakuzu foolishly focused on Naruto's rising arm. The Gozanze Myouou, the seven foot high wooden construct, crashed into the tall man. Ino was hurled away, and Kakuzu skidded over the ground as well.

Quickly jumping to his feet, Kakuzu prepared his next jutsu. The wooden demon ignored the katon jutsu. Without any sense of self-preservation the construct attacked Kakuzu. Using his superior speed, Kakuzu dodged. But as he had just stood up, his footing wasn't exactly perfect. He stumbled ever so slightly, leaning against the wall next to him, before… wall?

The Gozanze Myouou once again crashed into the supposed immortal of Akatsuki. The fourth heart was lost. And the wooden wall against which Kakuzu was pinned against moved.

"You saw me create the right hand of the Shin Juichimen Kan'on (Sage Art Wood Release: the True Eleven-Headed Kan'on). Why didn't you consider that I could create the left hand as well?" Naruto asked, while Kakuzu found himself restrained. The enormous hand held him, rendering him immovable.

"You have grown, brat. Even more than I hoped."

"Yeah, thank you very much for your 'teachings'," Naruto scoffed. "It would've been better if I had never met you!"

"We never get what we want, kid," Kakuzu smiled in spite of his situation. Proudly, even if he felt some frustration that his death didn't go the way he wanted it to go. That glory was denied. But… he couldn't say that it felt wrong. This was the shinobi way, a fitting end.

"We build castles in the clouds, dream our dreams, and yet this accursed world is more akin to a nightmare. No, I agree that we don't ever get what we want," Naruto said with a soft and menacing tone of voice. "But you are no longer in a position to worry about tomorrow."

"I do not need to bother with the future," Kakuzu said with a strange hint of pride in his voice. He already got what he wanted. The boy was not perfect, not quite up to par with Hashirama, as he was still too arrogant and emotional to be perfect, but he was the best successor he could have wished for. ' _Perhaps… My defeat was inevitable, but still, perhaps I should've tried harder. But to die at the hands of the strongest is an honorable end.'_

Naruto knew the man would feel the poisonous chakra seep through his body now. He would corrode from the inside out. The thorns on the left hand's palm had long since pierced Kakuzu's flesh.

"I perish today, but… my legacy will continue… Naruto. You are… the strongest…"

Naruto scowled and turned around. The fifth heart had stopped beating, yet Naruto felt none of the satisfaction that he had thought he'd feel. Kakuzu's pride had soiled his vengeance.

" **Don't let yourself be fooled by your desire for revenge, brat.** "

' _Define irony,'_ Naruto mentally frowned, hearing that particular advice from a being that was supposedly hatred incarnate. "One down, two to go. Ino-san, you should never have come here, after what you did to Aji-chan."

"N-Naruto-kun?"

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

I suppose I'm a bit evil for making the cut at this point. Oh well, after the conversation with Kushina and the battles with Kurama and Kakuzu, I thought I've written enough for one chapter. Seriously, there are a lot of chapters that were easier to write! *wipes sweat of his forehead*

 **((However, Illuminated, like Ice Bear, didn't break a sweat because Ziltoid wrote this chapter really well.))**

There will probably be people saying that I made Naruto too emotional, but think about it: Naruto lost everything. And Ino… well, what can I say? One of you compared her to canon-Sakura, in terms of how obsessive she seems, and I might agree to some degree, though I dare say that their situations are still quite a lot different.

Jokes aside… while I understand those who'd rather see Naruto as some kind of happy-go-lucky guy, but if we take a moment to look seriously at his situation: if Naruto was to be happy and cheerful after all he went through, after how Ajisai died, how he had seen Ino kill Ajisai, this entire story would make no sense at all, would it? To make matters worse, I think he'd rather die, now that he knows that he would pass on to the afterlife. Obviously, that is not what he is going to do (Boy, wouldn't that have been an ending that would have pissed off _everyone_?). Would Ino be able to talk him out of it? Did Kushina convince her son, or will he murder Ino before she gets a chance to explain?

Our cool Ice Bear **Illuminated** knows, but for the rest of you, I can only repeat a line which infuriated me for years when I was watching a particular show on TV: _stay tuned for the next episode of_ …

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	13. Advent

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **Advent**

* * *

"Non nobis solum nati sumus.

( _Not for ourselves alone are we born._ )"

― Marcus Tullius Cicero

* * *

The left hand of the Kan'on sunk into the ground, and Kakuzu's corpse fell down, still bearing that oddly proud smile that had robbed Naruto of any sense of satisfaction. Terrified, Yamanaka Ino looked into the crimson eyes of the person she once loved. Was this still Uzumaki Naruto? Was this the gentle but rash boy she grew up with?

"One enemy down, two to go. Ino-san, you should never have come here. Not after what you did to Aji-chan."

The shivering blonde peeked at the fallen Akatsuki, and then looked back at the boy whom she had grown up alongside. She didn't know what to expect. Of course he wouldn't know the truth behind the distorted story of how 'she' and her 'team' had killed two girls of the Amegakure trio. He wouldn't be aware that it had been faked. No, for this Zetsu guy, it would be far more convenient to tell Naruto believable lies. But why the masquerade? And more urgent: how could she change it?

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Why, Ino," Naruto kept his voice leveled, but it was obvious that he was straining to keep his composure. He restrained himself so that he wouldn't kill her right then and there, as he had made a promise to at least listen to her first. "Why did you attack Ajisai and her team?"

"I didn't!"

"Stop your lies!" Naruto snapped, the suffocating pressure of the chakra he radiated increased in density, leaving Ino barely in a state of consciousness. "I saw it all. I saw how you, Shikamaru, Choji, and Asuma attacked them. You four attacked me, couldn't beat me, and then you decided to go after the one I cherished most?! YOU KILLED HER!"

What remained of the seven-foot wooden demon after Kakuzu had attacked it, now tried to crawl towards Ino, responding to Naruto's rage. The damage that Kakuzu had caused to it with his katon jutsu was quite significant, but not enough to completely destroy the upper half of its torso. What the automaton wanted to do, however, went against Naruto's promise. He had promised Uzumaki Kushina that he'd at least listen to Ino, figure out what drove her to do what she done. So he destroyed the thing.

"Kunomori-sama," the other girl struggled. Suiren had managed to pull herself from the ground, although her trembling legs barely supported her. Having been knocked out earlier, fainting due to his murderous intent, it was an understatement to say that Suiren wasn't having a good day. She had expected him to be angry, but even Suiren had never expected him to have this much chakra. This wasn't at the level of a human anymore. "No, Naruto-san, I should say. Please stop. You are being deceived."

"Why would I trust a captive?" Naruto scoffed. "Especially one flanked by a Yamanaka? Their petty mind tricks are well known."

"Zetsu did it!"

"You were Aji-chan's friend, and for that I will spare your life. But what kind of nonsense is this? I want to hear her." Naruto pointed at Ino, "Explain why Ajisai had to die. Do not waste my time."

"How can you be sure that she did it?" Suiren countered.

"Zetsu showed me what he had seen."

"And I tell you that it was Zetsu who ambushed us. Multiple clones, of which the first ones were pretending to be Konoha shinobi," Suiren blurted out, her nerves making her talk faster than usual. Or was it the way the roots and plants around them were twitching? The usually calm and collected green-haired girl found herself sweating, terrified simply from looking him in the eyes. These crimson eyes were something inhuman. "We cut off an arm of one of the fakes, and it turned white. Ajisai realized that our attacker was Zetsu, because you had warned her about him or something like it. I mean, he knew your real name, that's when she knew for sure."

"What happened," Naruto glared.

"They- he- didn't want Pein-sama to learn your real name. Ajisai knowing your name made her a threat. Zetsu said that Pein-sama was just a tool to him, just like you. A-and… and if you were grieving for Ajisai, you would be easier to manipulate. He wanted to use you against Konoha," Suiren finished her outburst. "It was nearly impossible to distinguish those clones from real, but they fought differently. Kunai, rather than jutsu."

"Those surveillance clones are too weak… unless Zetsu deliberately…" Naruto scowled. Now that he remembered what happened before his memories were torn asunder, Naruto saw the slight inconsistencies. Not using any jutsu was one thing, but with their facial expressions, the way they moved, and how they spoke… he came to realize that something about those recordings was wrong, even if the differences were marginal. He knew Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji too well not to notice these tiny deviations.

' _But Zetsu couldn't spy on us. Not there, not in Amegakure, not without Pein knowing.'_

" _ **Perhaps he could not, but he did notice how you changed,**_ _"_ Kurama spoke up.

' _And Zetsu being the spy he is, he would notice even the faintest traces of her chakra… Was it all because of me?'_

" _ **Ugh, stop it with your self-pity. You did not kill that girl. It was that Zetsu who did that.**_ _"_

' _How do you know she's even telling the truth? The Yamanaka can easily warp someone's mind into believing such a lie, which should rule out Suiren as a credible source. That leaves Ino… who killed Ajisai.'_

" _ **Then ask yourself this: who would you rather believe, Zetsu or that girl?"**_

' _I'd rather know what happened than just believe someone's version of the truth,'_ Naruto thought disdainfully.

" _ **Fool… do you really think you can know everything? Even a being as old as I am has a limit to what he can know and understand. Our knowledge is never complete,"**_ Kurama scolded. _**"However, I can tell you that I do not sense any negative emotions from that Yamanaka girl. Not in the sense that she is intending to harm you, at least, and neither does she feel remorse or guilt when you talk about the dead girl. Only sadness."**_

"Why are you with Ino?" Naruto looked at Suiren, ignoring the annoyed Kyuubi. He was still livid, but part of his anger towards the two girls was already broken. Now… now there was some doubt- doubt that he blamed the wrong people.

"She and her team found me there, and healed me."

"We were sent there by Tsunade-sama," Ino chimed in, seeing Naruto's look. "The Anbu found out that you came from Amegakure before… before your battle with us," she looked away, pained. "That is why Tsunade-sama sent us. Because I knew that it was you. And Tsunade-sama didn't want more people to know that you hadn't died, but that you were turned against Konoha."

"She wanted to drag me back to Konoha," Naruto frowned. "Understandable. As a jinchuriki, I am a valuable asset to Konoha. With the mokuton kekkei genkai, my value is even higher."

"She just wants you to come back because of _you,_ Naruto-kun, and not because of those stupid political reasons!" Ino had seen Tsunade hide her pain for far too long to tolerate a false accusation of Tsunade seeing Naruto merely as a strategic tool.

Naruto remained silent. Whatever memories he had of Konoha, he could not forget the suffering that he had seen in Amegakure- suffering which was in part caused by Konoha, a village that saw itself as 'good'. It acted with self-righteousness and maintained the pretense of being something they weren't. He had cashed in too many bounties from the village to be blind to the truth that Konoha rather ignored. Naruto knew that if he was to push through with pacifying the world by force, Konoha would become an enemy as well.

"When we were at the border, I sensed a battle nearby. When we arrived at the scene, we found Suiren and the other two kunoichi who had died. I found this," Ino held up Ajisai's ring, "and knew that they were somehow related to you. So I healed Suiren to the point to where we could transport her to Konoha, where Tsunade-sama healed her injuries. That's when we found out how you were used by Akatsuki. That this Zetsu, whoever that may be, manipulated you, and that he killed Ajisai."

"That ring does not belong to you," Naruto snatched it from Ino's hand. He remained silent, not moving, just staring at the wooden ring that he now held in his hand. He had given the ring to Ajisai that day, the day he had 'claimed' her, in Ame's equivalent of a betrothal. Or was it Ajisai who had claimed him? Naruto couldn't tell. Without her opening his heart, he would never have even considered such a life for himself- marriage, children, and a long and peaceful life, a normal life. Through her, for the first time in his life, as far as he had remembered it at that time, he had found a purpose of his own. Rather than the tool he had been, Ajisai had made him feel human again. Zetsu had taken that from him.

" _ **You know that you will kill those two if you keep raising your chakra like that,**_ _"_ Kurama spoke unusually softly, almost as if he was placating Naruto. _"_ _ **Since you don't want to continue this fight, I'm going to pull out now. If you leave that cage open, I'll replenish your chakra.**_ _"_

' _Don't worry, Kurama. I won't lock you up. Unless you try to 'test' me again, of course.'_

" _ **Testing you now would serve no purpose. But be aware that your body will have to adjust to my chakra. Opening the seal to this degree will increase your reserves, as well as put a strain on your tenketsu that will eventually strengthen you. Just like applying force with your muscles, those tenketsu will eventually grow stronger. But don't try to force it open too much, too abruptly, or your tenketsu might rupture.**_ _"_

' _Thank you, Kurama.'_

" _ **Thank me by making sure I don't end up as a part of the Juubi.**_ _"_

"Kuno… Naruto-san, what will you do now?" Suiren asked carefully, hoping that the sudden drop in his chakra was a good sign. "I swear to you that what Ino and I said is the truth. I swear it on my life, and on my friendship with Ajisai and Fuyo."

"Y-you could come with us to Konoha," Ino tried, obviously hoping he would. In fact, if he didn't, she doubted she would return. She'd rather stay with him, although she worried about her parents. "You c-can-" His icy glare silenced her.

"By destroying my ring, I antagonized Akatsuki. Pein will come after me once he has the Nanabi. Kisame and Hidan were already heading for Kumo, I have little doubt that Kisame will succeed at capturing the Hachibi. With Samehada at his side, he will be the most effective fighter against a jinchuriki that Akatsuki has, now that I have left. If he and Pein join forces, I could be in trouble," Naruto pondered. "They'd have a very real chance at defeating me."

He held up Ajisai's ring, and with a gentle nudge of his chakra the object expanded just enough to fit around his wider finger. Naruto held out his right index finger, where he had worn his Akatsuki ring earlier, and put Ajisai's ring on it. "I vowed that I would give Aji-chan a world of peace. I guess I cannot meet her again until I have given everything I have to fulfill that vow. That is what Tou-san would have wanted me to do. That is what Kaa-san wanted. Yes, I will return to Konoha. For now. It seems both sides would profit from that course of action."

Ino could jump in joy, but halted herself when she saw the determined frown on his otherwise saddened face. "Naruto-kun?"

"Ino, release Suiren."

"Y-yes."

"I won't flee," Suiren promised the shaken blonde. "If I returned to Amegakure after being healed by Konoha, they'd kill me- after interrogation, at least. Not to mention that the safest place from Zetsu would be at the side of Kunomori-sama. Naruto-san, I mean. I have to get used to the name, my apologies."

"Just call me Naruto. You know that I don't like formalities," Naruto smiled softly, although the smile never reached his eyes. "But Ino, I warn you just as I will warn Tsunade when I see her: I will no longer be used or manipulated. I am no longer a tool. Nor is the Kyuubi Konoha's property. From here on out, I only answer to myself."

He turned around, and walked in the direction of Konoha. Suiren quickly followed, leaving Ino to gather her wits for a second. On one end, she was overjoyed that she finally would have Naruto back in Konoha, even if he had changed a lot. But on the other hand… his declaration would not go well with Konoha. At all. The council would distrust him for his past actions, and fear him for his power. This deviant attitude would only worsen the situation. It seemed that even though he _did_ return, conflict was still unavoidable.

"First things first," she mumbled to herself. "He just heard the truth about his fiancée's death," Ino felt herself cringe by saying the word. _She_ was supposed to wed him, not some random girl from Amegakure. Still, it had been his decision. It was painfully obvious that he had loved Ajisai, and that he still loved Ajisai, even though the girl had died. _'Naruto-kun will need time and space to process it all. Perhaps… perhaps after some time, he'll mellow out a little. He said he remembered his past, so he knows me, right? Ugh, why do I sound so selfish? It is disgusting,'_ she scolded herself. She could not, however, deny what her heart told her to do.

* * *

Tsunade, flanked by Nara Shikaku and Shizune, walked into the room they had set up. While the building at the center of the Forest of Death was usually used for events such as the Chunin Exams, it also offered a nice secluded place for highly important meetings- meetings where no disturbances were allowed. The forest was crawling with Anbu, backed by the forces that each kage had brought along. It was not that the foreign nations brought in an army, but a force of twenty men each had been enough to make them feel at ease. Tsunade was not happy about allowing such a number of skilled shinobi within the bounds of her village, but there was no time to be picky. Concessions had to be made to gain cooperation.

Right now, the Gokage, all five of them together, would have to determine the fate of the world. Would they be able to unite against Akatsuki? Would they foolishly cling to their pride? Tsunade knew that today was a very important day.

"I wonder how this day will pass," Shikaku muttered. "Considering the difficulty of assembling all of the kage, I would presume there will be a lot of disharmony in the way the five look at the state of the world."

"Jinchuriki are stolen, Shikaku. Most nations know the threat. The Kazekage perhaps most of all, considering how she lost her little brother to Akatsuki," Tsunade scowled. She wasn't looking forward to this meeting, which would undoubtedly dissolve in endless discussions. On top of it all, there was the matter that Ino had vanished a few days ago. Tsunade wouldn't admit it, but if she had had the choice she would've gone with Ino. Bringing back the brat who had dragged her out of her drunken stupor and effectively made her Hokage was a job that she should've done- especially considering the threat he currently posed…

"Temari-sama knows, and Ay-sama knows, but I wonder about the others."

"The Mizukage knows who took her predecessor," Shizune spoke up. Tsunade nodded before she took her place at the large oval table. Shikaku and Shizune stood behind her, and the three patiently awaited the others. In these past days, the kage had arrived one by one, and now that the Tsuchikage had finally come, the talks could finally commence.

Ironically, the man who had been last to arrive in Konoha was the first to enter the room. Ryotenbin no Onoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, was a short and old man, and yet arguably the most dangerous out of the five. Getting this stubborn and proud man to agree to establish an alliance would not be an easy task. For someone clinging to so many grudges of the past, joining forces with the 'enemy' would not be an easy decision. Regardless, the sheer fact that he had agreed to talk was promising. It showed how worried Iwa was.

Small as the Tsuchikage was, one of his guards was the complete opposite. Akatsuchi was easily six and a half feet tall, and his physique made Tsunade think that Iwa abducted him from the Akimichi clan. By contrast, the tomboyish granddaughter of Onoki, Kurotsuchi, seemed easier to get along with. But, Tsunade did not fool herself. The young woman was undoubtedly loyal, and if the rumors were correct she was highly skilled as well. In fact, spies pointed her out as the most logical successor for the Sandaime, even if she was still lacking in terms of experience.

"Hokage," Onoki nodded curtly.

"Tsuchikage-dono," Tsunade decided to be slightly more polite. In these times pointless provocations would only hinder her goals.

The rather awkward silence that followed was broken when the Kazekage and Mizukage entered, both calmly discussing something about a trade agreement, if Tsunade heard it correctly. Temari smiled softly at the Hokage as they greeted, her being flanked by her remaining brother and her former teacher.

Terumi Mei was more difficult to gauge for Tsunade. The woman was in her early thirties and probably at the peak of her beauty. Jiraiya had half-jokingly mentioned in one of his reports that he had finally seen a woman who nearly rivaled Tsunade's beauty. it was one of the only jokes that he had made since he had left. Tsunade was pained when she thought back at that day, that stupid discussion in which she, in the heat of her emotions, had hurt the man so terribly. One joke in three years was so out of character for him, that she knew she really had hit a nerve. Although that had been obvious the moment she had seen his broken-hearted expression…

"Hokage-dono," Mei inclined her head. "Thank you for receiving us all."

"It is my pleasure, Mizukage-dono," Tsunade dragged her mind back to the present day. "It seems we only have to wait for-"

The door flew open with a loud bang, the eight guards present all jumping into defense. To their relief, it was only the Raikage who entered. The bulky man wasn't exactly known for his subtlety, which manifested even in small things like opening a door. Rumor had it that in Kumo, Ay usually walked through walls instead of using the doors. Judging by the way he manhandled the poor door of this room, that rumor was true.

"Raikage-dono," Tsunade nodded. "Please take a seat, so that we can start our talks."

"Hmph. You talk as if you are leading this meeting," Onoki just had to prove his overweening sense of pride by putting such a minor matter into discussion.

"We are guests in Konoha, so it seems logical that Hokage-dono takes the lead," Temari said with a small scowl. She did not carry much love for Iwa, because they had been harassing Suna's borders ever since Gaara had died.

"I agree with the Kazekage," Mei chimed in.

"Let us move on to more important matters, rather than waste time on such pointless drivel," Ay said brusquely, making the tiny Tsuchikage scowl angrily at him. "We are here for Akatsuki, not for any nonsense about who gets to open a meeting." Onoki now openly glared at the Raikage, but remained silent.

Scraping her throat, Tsunade stood up from her seat. "The Raikage is correct, the main threat that we face is Akatsuki. That group has been aiming for the jinchuriki, but we can only guess about their goals."

"Is that everything we know?" Onoki grumbled. "I thought there would be something more concrete than that."

"Akatsuki consists of S-ranked shinobi. Together, they would pose a threat to any of our villages if they attack us one by one. With the bijuu, they'd able to rule the world," Mei stated.

"They abducted and killed Yugito, and intended to do the same to my little brother!" Ay slammed his fist on the table, making the poor object creak under the force. "They are scum. And interestingly, it is Iwagakure that often hires them as mercenaries."

From the corner of her eye, Tsunade saw Shizune cringe, and wished she could afford to show the same emotion. That wasn't something she could do, though. As a Hokage, her every move reflected on Konoha. Antagonizing either Iwa or Kumo would destroy any chance at an alliance. And whatever Akatsuki was doing, with their power and the usage of the bijuu they caught, it would have to be bad news. The five nations _had_ to unite, if they wanted to survive.

"Aside from determining who funded them, are you aware that one of their members has the wood release kekkei genkai?"

Okay, now Tsunade could not help but show her scowl, ' _Thank you, Mizukage, for bringing that up…'_ and now she had to explain that sensitive topic to the most powerful shinobi of the world. ' _Dammit. Where is my bottle of sake when I need it?'_

* * *

"Kunomori-kun killed Kakuzu! **And threw away his ring, turning his back on Akatsuki.** How rude!"

"I see you lost control over your puppet," Pein remarked dryly, making the plant-like being smirk mischievously. "Where has the Kyuubi jinchuriki gone?"

" **We suspect Konoha,** but we can't track him. **He'd know.** Even my Hoshi no Jutsu (Spore Technique) doesn't work on him. **His mokuton is a serious disadvantage to us.** " Black Zetsu neglected to mention that Naruto would only sense White Zetsu's chakra, but he still had to keep a trick up his (proverbial) sleeve.

"I knew he would be difficult to control," Pein remained calm as ever. Konan did not show any outward reaction, but the news made her feel conflicted. That boy- for some reason she kept seeing Yahiko in him- not just because of the superficial similarities, but also due to that doomed romance between him and Ajisai.

" **Kisame and Hidan won't suffice.** Not after how Naruto-kun has grown."

"I am aware. And it would have been a lot less difficult if you had not foolishly killed that girl," Pein reprimanded Zetsu- both halves now scowled. Obviously, Pein had seen more than Zetsu had anticipated.

' _ **But he still doesn't know everything.**_ _Loss and hatred blind poor Pein-san._ _ **Yet he will pave the road to mother's return,**_ ' the two halves briefly internally conversed. " **You intended to lure him in a trap, using the girl.** How cunning. **I'd rather call it ironic.** "

"Watch your words, Zetsu," Pein warned, not pleased by the implicit comparison with Hanzo. "Regardless of which path I choose to walk, Uzumaki Naruto will fall."

" **You should be careful, though** ," Zetsu refused to show his unpleasant surprise at Pein's knowledge. "He killed Orochimaru and Kakuzu like they were rookies! **He is a threat, even to you.** "

"And yet he is merely human. Humans can struggle all they want, yet they still fail when opposing a god." Pein looked at the unconscious man at his feet. "The Rokubi stood no chance. Neither will the Kyuubi."

" **What about the others?** "

"I noticed that something was off, and dispatched someone else to retrieve the Gobi. Kisame and Hidan should be capable of capturing the Hachibi."

"Oh, mysterious mister ten again? **Why was he never there to aid us with the sealing?** "

"Are you, of all people, really in a position to complain about me keeping secrets, Zetsu?"

* * *

"That is a lie!"

"Raikage-dono, please control your temper," Tsunade sighed. After hours, they still had not been able to reach any sort of consensus. Every time they got close, one of the kage would throw in something that derailed the conversation. "Tsuchikage-dono, we are getting nowhere if you keep trying to divide us. Akatsuki is becoming a threat too big for any of us to face alone. We need cooperation."

"Hokage-dono is correct," Mei inclined. "I fought one of their members personally, while the other, who was no more than a boy, fought the Yondaime Mizukage. In spite of his insanity, Yagura was a perfect jinchuriki who could wield all the chakra of the Sanbi, and yet-"

"He did put up one hell of a fight," in a swirl of leaves, a blonde young man and two kunoichi suddenly appeared. "Although Yagura wouldn't be much of a threat to me if I had to fight him now."

"…"

"Brat?!" Tsunade gasped in surprise. "Is… is that you, Naruto?"

"Yep. I've returned, Baa-chan," he stared at her blankly. "For now at… umpfh!" Naruto smacked to the ground, a courtesy of a lightning-covered Raikage. Ay aimed to grab Naruto by the throat, but Naruto swatted his hand away. His blue eyes had turned crimson, and the chakra he emitted… "Don't do that again, old man, if you value your life."

It wasn't just Ay who moved, though. All the guards were ready to attack. Onoki remained deceptively calm, while Mei would've attacked Naruto if not for Ay literally beating her to the punch. Temari, meanwhile, looked as if she had seen a ghost. Despite Naruto swatting away Ay's hand, the Raikage and the Mizukage both attempted to attack- only attempted, because roots and vines burst from through the ground, binding them and their followers, and dragging the two hot-headed kage back to their seats.

"N-Naruto? But you died!"

"I don't die easily, Temari. Or should I say Kazekage-sama now?" Naruto smiled sadly.

"Who are you, intruder," Ay glared. "That chakra…"

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, wielder of the mokuton kekkei genkai, jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, and son of Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina," he silenced everyone in the room. Onoki was, this time, the first to move. Well, he _tried_ to move. "Why don't we stop this foolishness, and discuss Akatsuki?" Naruto glared at the old man. While he dusted off his clothes, he realized that he was glad that he had dropped his Akatsuki cloak along with his ring and now only wore the dark blue (almost grey) pants and shirt. If not, these fools would have been even more annoying.

With the distraction, Ino grabbed the mortified Suiren by the wrist, and moved the two of them out of the circle. They were stopped by Kurotsuchi, though, who warned them not to move.

"They're not enemies of you," Naruto chuckled darkly. "But I'd appreciate it if they'd survive this nonsense."

"And you? What do you know about that scum?" Ay demanded, lightning still crackling around him, ready to break free from his restraints the moment he saw an opening. "I won't go easy on you if you don't answer me."

"You're faster than I am, old man, but don't push your luck. I came here because I wanted to come. I might as well leave, and you would never know what kind of enemy you are facing- not until it is too late, that is… But, I see patience isn't a quality which you possess, so I will keep it simple so that even a muscle-head such as yourself can follow." Naruto could practically hear the man's molars grind. "I am a jinchuriki, but I was presumed to be killed three years ago, after Akatsuki attacked my team. The simplified version is that I lost most of my memories that day, memories which I only recently retrieved. However, as you can see by Mizukage-sama's expression, I did not exactly do nothing for those three years…"

"You are part of Akatsuki!" Mei growled.

"Yeah, a jinchuriki without memories, with a kekkei genkai that made me the worst possible enemy to any jinchuriki; I was the perfect tool for them," Naruto nodded calmly. "And considering how they have to seal the Kyuubi last, keeping me close was even better for them. Sadly for them, my memories had not vanished completely. They were sealed away, and I unlocked them again. As I'm not planning to get the Kyuubi extracted from me, and refuse to die at the hands of those who manipulated me as a tool, I defected- after terminating a few of their members."

Tsunade glared at Ino, who hung her head in shame. "It is true, Tsunade-sama. He killed one of Akatsuki, a man named Kakuzu. He also killed Orochimaru."

If what Naruto had already said did not throw the room into chaos, it was Ino's statement that did the job. Orochimaru was feared among all five nations, and Kakuzu… well, after his adventure in Mizu no Kuni, Mei had made sure to spread information on the old man. After Takigakure ended up being decimated, the amount of information only increased. The kinjutsu that Kakuzu was said to have stolen made the man virtually immortal- and yet Naruto had killed the man. Then again, Orochimaru was notoriously difficult to fight as well.

"They both perished, yes," Naruto indifferently confirmed the claims. "Kakuzu was the one who butchered my team, so I had a score to settle with that man. Orochimaru was… well, let's just say that he made a proposal that annoyed me greatly, and paid the price."

"And we are just supposed to believe that?" Onoki scoffed. "Regardless of your excuses, you are a traitor to your village, boy. You cooperated with the scum that aims to-"

"I told you to stop this foolishness," Naruto stopped restraining himself. ' _Why don't we give them a taste of our power, Kurama?'_ The floor cracked, several of the guards stumbled and fell to their knees. Ino and Suiren once again suffered the same terror as they had experienced before, the same overwhelming murderous intent. Even the kage were silenced, pale and sweating even though they tried to keep up appearances. " **Madara once boasted that you were easily scared, Onoki. I see that that accursed Uchiha wasn't lying for once.** "

"Kyuubi," Onoki hissed, for once not enjoying to be reminded of something from his past. "You subdued the Kyuubi?"

"Cooperation," Naruto corrected him. "The Kyuubi and I share a common enemy, thus we decided to cooperate, as it would give us both the best odds. Of course, we could struggle, where either he would gain dominance over my body, or I would make him bow to my will. But unlike you, the Kyuubi was able to see that petty struggles are pointless in front of a stronger opponent."

"Are you saying that Akatsuki has something that is capable of scaring the Kyuubi?" Tsunade conjectured.

"Why do you think Akatsuki is collecting the bijuu, Baa-chan?"

"You are one of them, so why don't you tell us?" Mei glared, obviously not trusting his story. She did not seem to be so ready to attack him right now. Fear provided a compelling reason to listen to his story.

"You were that rebel leader, the one who nearly got herself killed by Kakuzu, aren't you?" Naruto frowned. "You should be well aware that your hostility is rather futile. You people chose a building in the center of a forest. Do you honestly think I could not have killed you all if I wished to do so? Assuming you all earned your positions, you should all be capable of noticing that I am indeed a jinchuriki; then the fact that I did not attack you should be enough proof of my intentions."

"Why did Gaara have to die, why did the other jinchuriki die?" Temari decided to speak up, and prevent the discussion from derailing any more.

"The leader of Akatsuki will try to bring peace to the world," Naruto smiled a little at seeing the confusion. Then again, he did not have the same sort of coercion that Pein had. Naruto did have to hand it to the man- as a true believer, Pein spoke with an energy that Naruto did not think he could ever muster again. "After the bijuu are collected, he will create a jutsu that can destroy entire nations. Through pain, he will educate humanity about the folly of its ways. The horrors of war will make people desire peace, rather than continue this endless cycle of hatred. He will force the world into peace by making a continuation of war too horrible for people to bear."

"An entire nation?" Tsunade gasped. "Y-you can't be serious!"

"You all must be aware, to some extent, how powerful a single bijuu can be. Now imagine how powerful all nine together can be," Naruto looked at the Senju. "Even if they do not possess the Kyuubi yet, Akatsuki will control a power that is beyond my capacity to defeat."

"Not all the bijuu have been stolen yet," Onoki narrowed his eyes. "Han is still secure."

"My little brother is safe too," Ay groused.

"As is the jinchuriki of the Rokubi," Mei agreed. "Even though Utakata-san refused to return to Kiri, we did dispatch a strong enough guard to ensure his safety."

"Akatsuki knows the location of the Gobi jinchuriki," Naruto shrugged. "Kakuzu and I were tasked to capture it. But considering how I came to remember my old life and defected, Iwa's jinchuriki should be secure for the time being. Only until Pein and the others move against him, though."

"From your words… Akatsuki is already targeting the other two?" Temari scowled, hoping that she was misinterpreting Naruto's words. She was not, unfortunately.

"The last thing I know is that the leader, Pein, had located the Rokubi, and was about to engage him. So Kiri's jinchuriki is already captured, and likely already moved to a secure location," Naruto held up his hand to silence the Mizukage. "Pein is far more powerful than any of you. To tell the truth, even I cannot be completely sure that I can defeat him in single combat."

"And the Hachibi?" Tsunade inquired.

"The jinchuriki of the Hachibi might have defeated Sasori and Orochimaru during his first run-in with Akatsuki." Naruto shared a bit of information which Ay had neglected to share with the other kage, much to their collective annoyance. "But against Kisame he will lose. Especially when Hidan is at Kisame's side. Zetsu will have gathered enough information on the fighting style of the jinchuriki to give Kisame the upper hand." Ay roared and wanted to leave, but Naruto stopped the man.

"The monster of Kirigakure," Onoki scowled. "That swordsman is the nuisance who killed our previous Daimyo."

"So Kisame has told me," Naruto agreed. "Although you left out the little detail that it was your current Daimyo who hired him for that job… but that is irrelevant now. What is more urgent is that all five villages will have to face Akatsuki, or you will be destroyed by the Juubi. So please sit down, Raikage-sama. You will not be in time to reach your jinchuriki anyway."

"I will have to save Bee!" Ay barked. "I will-"

"You will _what_?" Naruto asked sharply. "You don't know where they hide. You don't know their members, nor do you know their abilities. And most importantly, you do not know how they seal the bijuu. You know nothing, Raikage, of the true danger the world is in."

"Raikage-dono, you should listen to this brat," Onoki surprised Temari and Tsunade by agreeing. "Juubi, you said. Is such a thing… is that possible?"

"The members of Akatsuki unite their powers to seal away each bijuu into a statue that is called the Gedo Mazo," Naruto clarified. "Pein, the leader of Akatsuki, aims to use that statue as a weapon. He does not seem to be aware that the nine bijuu together, in that statue, will give birth to something far more horrible."

"How do you know that?" Tsunade stammered after a few moments of stunned silence. "If Akatsuki does not know this, then how do you?"

Naruto patted on his stomach. "I told you that Kurama and I decided to cooperate because of a common threat, didn't I? We humans only live short lives, and forget about things easily, but Kurama has been around ever since the Rikudo Sennin gave him life."

" _ **Brat, what are you doing?**_ _"_

' _Teaching them to respect the bijuu,'_ Naruto replied. ' _Unless you want to get sealed again after all this is over and I have died, I presume that telling these fools who you and your brethren truly are might cause them to respect you a bit more.'_

" _ **It will fail. Humans are too greedy for our chakra to ever truly respect us.**_ _"_

"The Sage of the Six Paths?" Temari frowned. "That is just a legend. Isn't it?"

"It is not," Ay scowled.

"You should trust Kumogakure on this one, Kazekage-dono," Onoki smiled wryly. "Kumo has been hoarding everything related to the founder of ninjutsu. Many of my village's artifacts have been stolen, in fact…"

"Understanding the origins is the path to understanding."

"I never expected you to be this wise, Raikage-sama," Naruto chuckled, mocking the man with the honorific. "But for someone so revered, his 'children' have gotten quite a poor treatment, haven't they? Sealed away, used as weapons, all for the sake of war. All because the hidden villages are too greedy. And you wonder why the bijuu act so violently whenever they manage to escape… but this is not the time to discuss the treatment of bijuu, or their jinchuriki for that matter. This is a time where you fools have to reach a decision."

"How strong would the Ten Tails be?"

" _ **Brat, let me take over for a moment.**_ _"_

' _You're not going to kill them, are you?'_

" _ **No. They need to know what the threat is.**_ _"_

"Very well. I'll leave it to Kurama to explain that," Naruto sighed. His eyes changed even further, and his whisker mark deepened. Along with his prolonged fangs, he looked rather feral now.

" **Everyone listen. And don't interrupt me with your puny little arguments, the brat might have patience with you babbling fools, but I do not,** " Kurama grumbled with his deep voice, temporarily in control of Naruto's body. " **To put it in a way that you humans can understand, the Juubi can be described as the summary of all the chakra from the One Tail to me, the Nine Tails. It is the beginning of all chakra, a god who created countries. Ame no Hitotsu no Kami, Atara, Deidara-Bocchi… your kind has given it many names. It is an entity that swallows oceans, splits the land, carries mountains, and it is the progenitor of all that exists in this world. It is like all my brethren combined in one being, but stronger. Incomparably stronger. I alone do not stand a chance against it, but without my chakra the Juubi will not be able to be reborn. The Gedo Mazo is merely a container. Only it can contain chakra as powerful as that of my brethren. And me being the strongest of them all, means that I have to be sealed last. If not, the chakra would destabilize and the sealing process would fail. But even without my chakra, the Gedo Mazo is a powerful enemy. Especially considering how he can simply swallow the brat in order to begin the transformation, after the first eight have been sealed.** "

"Is there no hope?" Tsunade grimaced. "Are things that dire?"

" **The human who leads Akatsuki has the same eyes as the Rikudo Sennin. The Rinnegan is the one dojutsu that can control the Gedo Mazo, and it is likely also capable of enabling him to control the Juubi to some extent. But the human is a fool if he thinks he can truly control the Juubi. No, I assume that the goals he spoke of to the brat, bringing peace to the world by making warfare something so destructive that you humans do not dare to continue it, is not the true goal of Akatsuki. Their leader is nothing but a puppet.** "

"What else could they want?" A growled. "World domination? The destruction of the hidden villages?"

" **The Juubi will not be interested in anything Akatsuki wants. It does not have feelings or ideals… and yet its power is immeasurable. The old man warned us, before his death, that the return of the Juubi would herald the end of the world. So instead of squabbling for hours over the petty grievances between your villages, why don't you ask yourselves this: do you want this world to end?** "

"End of the world?" Temari muttered. "No… No, Sunagekure will do whatever necessary to avoid that."

"As will Kirgakure," Mei chimed in.

"Konoha will never allow the Juubi to return," Tsunade nodded vehemently. "We won't allow them to take Naruto or you, Kyuu… Kurama."

"Nor will Kumo allow those bastards to take Bee," Ay growled.

"Hm… if all you hot-headed children can come to an agreement, it would be bad for the elders to fall behind. Someone will have act as a guide to the inexperienced."

" **By that logic you just appointed me as your leader; thank you, tiny human,** " Kurama chuckled, before handing control back to Naruto. " _ **Now they know. I would advise you give them all the locations that Akatsuki uses as shelter. If they have captured Gyuuki and Saiken, they will need a place to keep them during the sealing, which will take longer now that they are lacking several members. Attacking those locations might slow Akatsuki down even further, forcing them to relocate, or- in a perfect turn of events- offer a chance for your allies to reclaim the captured jinchuriki. Likewise, Amegakure will be a problem. Pein is probably someone you will have to handle personally. But if you do it alone, the other shinobi of Ame and the remaining members of Akatsuki might form a costly distraction. Having humans at your side to deal with those distractions seems to be the best option."**_

"A bijuu to lead us?" Onoki blinked.

"He was joking," Naruto sighed. "Who takes charge is irrelevant. I'll provide the Hokage with all the information on the Akatsuki hideouts that I know of. Each nation should be capable of composing teams to clear those hideouts, and if necessary call in reinforcements. Most of the hideouts are in the border areas or in the smaller nations. Oto no Kuni being the exception."

"Why would it be an exception?" Tsunade frowned. "Wasn't Orochimaru in charge of that nation? He was part of Akatsuki."

"Yes, but Otogakure is completely gone. I don't think that after what I did, anyone managed to survive," Naruto shrugged. The indifference in his voice made Tsunade shudder a bit. Orochimaru and his experiments were not exactly equal to the power of a shinobi village, but still… "Since I annihilated Otogakure, the most urgent situation that we have to deal with will be Amegakure."

"Ame? Why? Hanzo would not deal with scum like Akatsuki."

"Hanzo died years ago," Naruto shook his head. "Pein killed Hanzo. And Hanzo's wife, his parents, his children… everyone related to Hanzo, in any way, was slaughtered. I see you realize who truly rules Ame now."

"Akatsuki," Tsunade grimaced. "Akatsuki's leader controlled an entire nation, without anyone knowing!"

"If any of us would have openly attacked Amegakure," Onoki mumbled, looking at Tsunade and Temari, "the other two neighbors would have seen it as a provocation, and retaliated accordingly."

"But with Akatsuki controlling Ame, all three of us should attack together."

"I do not hold a grudge against Ame itself, Kazekage, but defeating Pein and his right hand Konan is something that _has_ to be done to halt Akatsuki," Naruto grumbled. "As such, I will join whatever forces that will be sent out against Amegakure. Pein will be my enemy to fight, but I will need to have all distractions removed."

"Audacious brat," Ay barked. "How dare you tell us how to act? Spreading our forces, attacking a smaller nation, we would leave our villages unprotected!"

"If I may," Nara Shikaku stepped forward. "Akatsuki does not seem to hold any interest in our villages, but rather in the jinchuriki. Or, the bijuu, to be more specific. If we collectively attack all the hideouts which Naruto-san is aware of, there might be a chance that we can either prevent or interrupt the sealing process, assuming that this process consumes time, and rescue the missing jinchuriki."

"With nine members, it still took us three days for each bijuu," Naruto nodded. "And that number has gone down, so it should take even more time now."

"I thought Akatsuki had ten members," Onoki frowned.

"Number ten has always been a bit of a mystery," Naruto admitted. "No one but Pein himself seems to be aware who the last member is. But the assessment of Nara-san is correct. What Akatsuki needs is the bijuu, I see no reason why they would risk their remaining assets by assaulting a village, especially not if it meant that it would slow down the sealing process."

"Unless a jinchuriki resides in that village," Shikaku remarked. "In this case a lot of innocent people will likely be drawn into the fray, because a battle against multiple S-ranked shinobi will likely lead to large-scale destruction. I assume that this is why Naruto-san prefers to take the initiative and assault the home of Akatsuki's leader."

"Well, yes. I just want to destroy Pein. And if possible, I want to kill the person who put me through all that shit. Killing Zetsu is something personal," Naruto stated firmly. "As for the rest: that was Kurama's plan, not mine. He's quite smart, you know."

" _ **Kiss ass."**_

' _Don't act like a tsundere all of a sudden, Kurama.'_

" _ **Don't make me regret this deal…"**_

' _You won't. I won't stop until Pein is gone. And Zetsu… that accursed vegetable will suffer for what he did to Aji-chan,'_ Naruto thought grimly. "Good, can we all agree on these terms?"

* * *

"You should not have done such a thing," Tsunade scowled.

"If I had not done it, there would've been a lot of pointless interference."

"Yes, but-"

"It would have been counterproductive if I had wasted time by slaughtering a bunch of Anbu and jonin, right in front of their kage," Naruto shrugged. "So I put them all to sleep. Hell, in the center of a forest filled with poisonous plants, I could've easily done a lot worse."

"You have changed, brat…"

"We can't all pretend to be young and unchanging forever, Baa-chan," Naruto smiled wryly. "Too much has happened for me to be like I once was." Naruto looked around. They were sitting in Tsunade's office, just the two of them. Tsunade had thanked Ino as soon as there was no one else around, although she did say that she couldn't thank Ino openly, as she had officially gone against orders, Tsunade would find a way to reward the Yamanaka girl. For now, Shizune had taken up the task to clear Ino's records of her 'insubordination'.

Similarly, Suiren was freed. And in spite of her status as Amegakure kunoichi, she was granted the right to join the Konoha forces, on the condition that she would aid Shikaku by providing all the information she had on Amegakure. Tsunade had also ordered Shikaku to make sure that Suiren, now promoted from 'prisoner' to 'valuable asset', would remain secure.

Hence, only the two blondes were left in the office, where Tsunade was starting to get a headache as they were discussing how to announce Naruto's return, as well as sharing the news that they were at war with Akatsuki and Amegakure.

"Naruto?"

"What? Sorry, I kinda got lost in thought," Naruto laughed sheepishly. Although his laugh did not reach the eyes. Those somber and empty eyes, they made Tsunade worry. It was as if nothing he did or said ever truly came from his heart. That was a hollow state of existence that she herself knew all too well… "It is strange to be back so soon after remembering who I was. Everything seems smaller. Everyone suddenly appears to be so fragile."

"It is because you have become strong," Tsunade chuckled, trying to put her worries aside and putting up a brave face. "And taller too. Now I don't have to feel bothered when I offer you a glass of this," she pulled out a bottle of her favorite sake from the drawer of her office. "Unless you don't want to?"

"Hm, I guess it wouldn't hurt. Although I fear I might never stop," Naruto's mirth vanished quickly. "Oh well, thanks to Kurama, I guess I won't get drunk quickly anyway."

Tsunade poured him a glass, which he downed before she could even raise her own glass. It made her frown, and shove the bottle towards him. If he could drink like that, he should fill his own glass as well. "I thought you disliked alcohol."

"Because I never knew why you drowned yourself in it. I was young and ignorant back then. But I found…" he mumbled, then lifting his left hand, showing her the ring that belonged to Ajisai. "And then lost… so yes, I got to understand how you feel, Baa-chan. And it is ugly enough to make a person change."

"Kid… what happened?"

"Team seven was ambushed by Kakuzu, the guy that I killed a few days ago. I woke up some time after that, and Zetsu asked me if I was Tobi or Naruto. Apparently, half my body had been destroyed. Tobi was a being similar to Zetsu, and Tobi merged with my body. I think their plan was to let Tobi control my body, so that they would have Kurama under their control. They almost succeeded, but they hadn't planned things out well enough. When Tou-san created the seal, he left a portion of his and Kaa-san's chakra behind so that they would be able to see me again."

"Minato saved you, didn't he?" Tsunade guessed. "He always had a habit of arriving just in the nick of time."

"In the struggle to gain control over my body, Kurama had torn out a part of my soul. Tou-san stabilized that part, ensuring the survival of my memories. Somehow he stopped Tobi from gaining dominance. Or perhaps he killed Tobi's psyche, I do not know. Fact is that I woke up without any memories. Zetsu and Kakuzu taught me to be a shinobi, taught me how to deal with the ability that I had gained. Zetsu had records left by Uchiha Madara, describing the mokuton kekkei genkai from the Shodai Hokage down to the smallest details, while Kakuzu had once fought Hashirama. The two of them had some knowledge, but in truth… I learned to wield the wood element from nature itself. Well, and from Aji-chan."

"Aji-chan?"

"Ajisai. After Kakuzu and I captured Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage, I was sent to Amegakure for training. Ajisai was the girl who was assigned as my attendant. After all, I was not an inhabitant of Ame, so Pein did not fully trust me. Don't ask me why, but the people of Ame revere Pein as 'Kami-sama'. Somewhere along the line, Ajisai started to see me as some kind of demigod. She thought I was as powerful as Pein himself, but still human."

Naruto smiled sadly; it was the first honest emotion Tsunade saw in him.

"Her admiration turned into something else. And I never noticed. I mean, Zetsu and Kakuzu aren't exactly good teachers, so I was practically ignorant when it came to emotions. That was also my weakness when it came to mokuton."

"How do you mean?"

"Mokuton is not just a mixture of suiton and doton, nor is it just a form of senjutsu, it is something also depending on the yang energy of a person. In other words: it needs a chakra that is full of life. What is the one thing that makes you feel more alive than anything else?"

Naruto chuckled, although the empty look in his eyes made Tsunade cringe.

"Love. Ajisai introduced me to the subject. Before I left Amegakure, as Kakuzu and I were tasked to capture the Nanabi, Ajisai and I got engaged. Or 'claimed', as she called it. Ame habits differ a bit from those in Konoha. I don't know whether it is the best decision I ever made, or the worst. Because of me, she ended up getting killed by Zetsu…"

"They say that the pain is in proportion to the love you feel for those you lost."

"And anger is connected to that pain," Naruto scowled. "That is why I said I will kill Zetsu. Defeating Pein is essential, as he is the strongest member of Akatsuki, but Zetsu is something personal."

"Do not let yourself be consumed by anger, kid," Tsunade warned. "Anger, self-loathing, sorrow, all these feelings… they are enough to reduce any person to a pathetic mess."

"If we die, we'll meet them again," Naruto smiled weakly.

What alarmed Tsunade most was that this smile was actually sincere.

"Don't fret, Kaa-san already talked me out of my suicidal thoughts," Naruto chuckled. "I still have a few things that I have to do before I can face Aji-chan."

Tsunade found herself agreeing with this. "My little brother dreamt of becoming Hokage, just like our grandfather and his brother. Dan wanted to become Hokage to change the village, to prevent all those unnecessary casualties, like his sister and my brother… and now I am living their dream. I thought I was living your dream too, but fortunately you're still alive!"

"I don't think it is still my dream though, Baa-chan," Naruto sighed. "The old me wanted it. He wanted it so badly. To be accepted. To be acknowledged. To make people stop looking at him like he was some kind of criminal. To be worthy of the trust the Yamanaka family put in him. To be Ino's… but that Naruto died. Not when Kakuzu destroyed his body, or when Tobi invaded his flesh, but rather when Ajisai died. I wanted to give her a world devoid of war and conflict. A world of peace. That, Baa-chan, is my dream now. So that when I pass on, and finally see Aji-chan again, I can tell her that I kept my promise and changed the world for her."

"Couldn't you do that as Hokage?" Tsunade tried. "Considering how powerful you are right now, you could do the same thing that my grandfather did, and create peace simply by being too strong to be attacked."

"Tell me, is Konoha innocent?"

"What?"

"Is the village innocent," Naruto repeated. "Is Konoha not guilty of any of the past wars? Did it not create innocent victims? Did it never act out of a selfish pursuit for power? If you can tell me that, I will believe in Konoha again. But right now, I see a village which would rather defend its own people than think about those on the other side of the border. I see a village which created plenty of criminals, or simple, poor souls that attempted to flee the system and therefore were branded as traitors. Do you have any idea how many of those poor sods were hunted down by Kakuzu and me? And if I truly create peace, Baa-chan, wouldn't that ruin Konoha? A village which depends on people buying their soldiers would not have much income when those soldiers aren't needed anymore. Konoha _needs_ conflicts."

"You'd become an enemy of many people within Konoha," Tsunade admitted. "Yet there are many more that would rather see you succeed in bringing peace. Those who hold power will struggle when they lose it, but ultimately their sacrifice will be for the greater good."

"Tell that to them," Naruto nodded at the door. Not five seconds after he did so, three elders entered Tsunade's office, without any appointment and, worse, without knocking. "Trespassing in the office of the Hokage is treason, isn't it?" he smirked, making Tsunade laugh when two of the three froze up.

"So it is true. The jinchuriki has returned from the death," the one-eyed elder remarked, wearing bandages as if he recently had received some major hit to the head.

"Oh my, how did you get such an interesting arm?" Naruto mumbled.

* * *

"Sensei, I see you succeeded in spite of everything?"

"Kunomori betraying Akatsuki was quite unexpected. Mokuton or not, to be able to kill both Kakuzu and my old friend… it is impressive."

"I would not have sent you to capture the Gobi if I had any other choice."

"I know, Nagato. His treason forced your hand. The Gobi jinchuriki didn't pose much of a problem, though. But I wonder if what Kunomori did was also part of Zetsu's plan."

"It was not part of Zetsu's plan. What the Yamanaka girl did was quite unexpected," Nagato lied. "The pain of loss drove her far enough to twist the minds of others, and now Konoha believes her lies. The world will descend upon us, with a furious wrath. The hidden villages will never tolerate us bringing peace to the world. Hiding behind a false symbol of hope, they aim to keep the world as it is: a world that destroys and consumes people, cities built on skulls, paths paved with broken dreams. That is how they wish to keep it."

"But what if it is true, Nagato?"

"Do you still delude yourself with hope, Jiraiya-sensei?" Nagato sighed. "Even after you have asked the toads? Uzumaki Naruto is no longer an active summoner. If he had survived, as the delusional Yamanaka girl claims, the toads would have known."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Jiraiya!? At the side of his old students? I suppose I should hurry up and finish the next chapter, before the angry mob with pitchforks and torches finds my bunker…

Also: do you want Naruto to become Hokage? I'm a bit torn on the matter, to be honest. I'd like to hear what you guys think, and why he should or should not aim to get the position. I have some pretty strong ideas on his future, but it wouldn't hurt to hear some arguments from my lovely readers!

As always, I thank the ice-cold **Illuminated** , who edited this chapter straight from his refrigerator. With his fire axe. So if you think I was the one who cut off this chapter at an unfortunate point…

 _Oh, I can't believe you are blaming me for stopping after the reveal!_

Whelp! I made a joke! A joke! I was only teasing you!

 _*Swings with axe*_

Ahaha… haha… ha… Uhm. I was the one responsible for the cliffhanger. Not Illuminated. There, I said it. Can you put down your axe now? Please? *whimpers*

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	14. Treason

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Fourteen**

 **Treason**

* * *

" _I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next: Delicious Ambiguity."_

― Gilda Radner

* * *

"Oh my, how did you get such an interesting arm?" Naruto mumbled. ' _That man felt odd while I noticed him approaching the office, but up close it is like he covered his right arm in some sort of genjutsu. Peculiar. It is almost as if his arm is made out of the same stuff that Zetsu is made of. And what are those dots underneath those locks?'_

" _ **Be careful in front of this man. You should be able to sense the negative emotions he radiates.**_ _"_

' _I know. I'll probably have to deal with this bastard before this war commences. Or one of the other idiots.'_

"Danzo?" Tsunade frowned, wondering why the older man suddenly looked like that. He was usually overly calm and collected, to the point that Tsunade compared him to a corpse; seeing him angered was something Tsunade had not expected- especially not over a seemingly simple remark like that.

"Don't worry, Baa-chan," Naruto smirked at the old man. "I bet he'll be a very useful asset in our war against Akatsuki."

" _ **Brat, what are you doing?**_ _"_

' _Calm down, Kurama. He'll attack me of his own volition. It'll be either him or Iwa that will be made an example- or perhaps someone else who would be smart enough to think that killing us would at least stall Akatsuki for the time being. That blockhead from Kumo might try it too, though I highly doubt he's able to worry about anything but his brother at this point.'_

" _ **Why would you specify Iwa? It seemed like that woman from Kirigakure was more intent on murdering you.**_ _"_

' _Iwa will want me dead because I'm the son of the Yondaime Hokage, their grudge goes far deeper than the Mizukage's. I especially said that to test their response. I'd rather go into war knowing who my enemies are, Kurama. I travelled through Tsuchi no Kuni with Kakuzu, and the hatred they have against my father is still as strong as ever. But if we give them a strong enough example, they won't attack when it's the wrong time for me.'_

" _ **I don't like how you gamble.**_ _"_

' _What, are you afraid of one old man who has an arm that is partially mokuton? All we need to do is to dispose of one party to scare the others enough that they fall back in line. It's just a matter of flushing out the enemies that might backstab us in the near future. Or do you want to let them wait until Pein weakens us?'_

"A war against Akatsuki?" Koharu glared at Tsunade. "What is this?"

Tsunade shortly explained the situation to the elders of the council. Danzo didn't officially belong to that council, but usually came with Koharu and Homura anyway. Having the backing of some of Konoha's clans, he was difficult to remove as well. Of course, Tsunade would have retained more power if she hadn't struggled with her depressions so much.

"The Juubi," Danzo scowled. "The problems involving Akatsuki are piling up. To think it would be a threat grave enough to unite the five nations."

"It is good to see that we have our jinchuriki back, in these dark times," Homura nodded.

"I am not 'your' jinchuriki. I am no one's tool, old man," Naruto warned. "I'll fight alongside my old home, I'll listen to what Baa-chan has to say, but beyond that I will not be one of Konoha's pawns. I refuse to become a tool again."

"That is treason," Koharu narrowed her eyes. "Whether you want it or not, you are Konoha's jinchuriki. But perhaps your mental health needs to be examined first."

"Are you intending to force me to listen?" Naruto chuckled humorlessly. "Please try it, old crone. Attack me, and I'll feed your intestines to the dogs of the Inuzuka clan. Oh, and stop attempting that genjutsu against me, Danzo-san. It only pisses off Kurama, and I'm inclined to agree with him. I won't execute you old farts in this office, but you are all welcome to try to engage me. If you think you are stronger than Orochimaru or Kakuzu…"

With that, Naruto left the office. Tsunade wanted to stop him and called out to him, but it was futile. Following him was no option either, considering the seething elders which were also present. ' _Dammit brat, the first day you're back and you're already causing a ruckus,'_ the now former sake addict scowled at the realization that she'd have to deal with this riled-up trio of elders.

* * *

With a faint smile, the girl looked at the closed doors. She had defied a direct order, brought back the boy she loved, and gotten away without punishment. In fact, Tsunade had even promised her to remove all charges of insubordination- or at least, Shizune would do that- the paperwork. Ino sighed as she had to wait. She knew Tsunade wanted (and needed) to speak to Naruto in private, but still… Ino wouldn't be Ino if she wasn't terribly curious- and scared.

"The things that Naruto said… I don't think Tsunade-sama will like it much," she mumbled to herself. He had basically told Ino that he didn't want to join Konoha's ranks anymore. He refused to become anyone's tool ever again, but that was basically what a shinobi was to his or her village: a tool, a person executing the missions assigned by the leader of the village. If he would refuse to obey that fundamental rule, what kind of shinobi would he be?

Seeing the three elders enter the office (even though they did not have any invitation, and Danzo wasn't formally an elder of the council) only made her turmoil grow. The steady increase of chakra she felt…

' _Naruto-kun has truly become monstrously strong. I knew he had more chakra than anyone else, but right now it is just preposterous. Even Tsunade-sama wouldn't stand a chance, and she's basically the strongest person I know!'_ Ino scowled at the idea that Naruto thought he had to engage Akatsuki's leader personally, as if that man were as strong as Naruto was.

' _But Naruto-kun is a jinchuriki. Of the Kyuubi. Unless that thing about the Juubi is true, how would anyone be capable of matching Naruto's power now that he cooperates with the Kyuubi?'_

The doors opened with a loud clang, and Naruto appeared in her line of sight- a visibly annoyed Naruto. Silent, she was glad she could still read his expressions as well as before. "Naruto-kun?"

"Oh, you were still waiting?" Naruto blinked, as if he had not noticed her up to that point. Truthfully, he had forgotten, being too caught up in the annoyance the elders had caused. "Baa-chan said you had to go home, if I recall correctly?"

"What more do I need to do to make it clear to you that I don't do everything she tells me to do?" Ino huffed, her hands placed on her hips. "Now let's go home together."

"Together?"

"Your old apartment was bought by someone else, and most of your stuff is gone," Ino sighed. "You know, because we all thought you died. But, we still have a guestroom, so you'll stay with us!"

"I get the feeling it still doesn't matter what I say," Naruto said with a deadpan expression. "I can create buildings myself, you know, so I'm never without a roof over my head."

"A roof is not a _home_ ," Ino countered. "You're going home, Naruto-kun," she grabbed his wrist, dragging him along. On their way out, Naruto noticed several unusual Anbu. They felt oddly empty, as if missing something fundamental.

" _ **They lack negative emotions."**_

' _They lack what?'_

" _ **Now that you have so much of my chakra flowing through you, you share a gift that I possess,"**_ Kurama explained with surprising patience. _**"That gift is the ability to sense the negative emotions in others. Hatred, despair, murderous intent, greed… the list goes on and on with you humans. You'll get better at distinguishing it in time."**_

' _But they lack those feelings? Isn't that a good thing?'_

" _ **Every human has such emotions in some degree. Not having those emotions is a sign that someone messed with their heads. I know that some clans had a practice of training children to become mindless murderers. No regret, no hope, no ideals… just tools."**_

' _In Konoha?'_ Naruto frowned. ' _Must be a whole group of them, considering how they are following us. It would be nearly impossible for an outside force to infiltrate Anbu ranks to such a degree. So… an inside job?'_

" _ **A clandestine unit, perhaps. I do not know. But be careful. You might now want to drag the bossy girl into this. Your new mate?"**_

' _No, Kurama, she's not my 'mate'. The girl I loved was murdered by Zetsu. Ino is… a remnant? An attachment my old self had, quite similar to what my new self felt for Aji-chan. Only less intense, I suppose. I was much younger back then. We didn't go_ that _far at twelve or thirteen. Not like with Aji-chan. Besides, Aji-chan had something no one else has.'_

" _ **In love with a dead girl? How futile. But it explains why you feel so conflicted."**_

' _Why should I stop loving someone because she died? I will see her again, once I am dead as well. That day, we will both be free, Kurama.'_

" _ **Yes, that afterlife thing you mortals have… but recall that I can't die?"**_

' _It must be painful,'_ Naruto felt oddly sad for the Kyuubi. ' _You cannot die. You can never meet those you care about ever again?'_

" _ **Why are you assuming that there would be people that I care about?"**_

* * *

"But what if it is true, Nagato?"

"Do you still delude yourself with hope, Jiraiya-sensei?" Nagato sighed. "Even after you have asked the toads? Uzumaki Naruto is no longer an active summoner. If he had survived as the delusional Yamanaka girl claims, the toads would have known."

"That is true, but…"

"If his name is marked as deceased in that summoning scroll, how could this new boy truly be Uzumaki Naruto?" Nagato frowned a little as he looked down upon his old sensei. Konan used to be the only one who saw his 'true' body, rather than seeing one of the paths of Pein. But Jiraiya had quickly enough discovered that it wasn't Yahiko who had taken Nagato's eyes, but rather Nagato who had taken Yahiko's body. At that point, Nagato had to make a choice between disposing of the man, or showing him the truth.

He had chosen the latter. It was strange how things had gone. Jiraiya had been a man who had lost all hope, who had turned into a wanderer without any real affiliations. At some point he had run into Konan, purely by chance, when she had gone out of Amegakure for a mission. After that short meeting, where she basically had fled from him before he had truly realized who she had been, Jiraiya had stubbornly persisted in trying to find his old student. He had believed her to be the only one left. To Jiraiya, she was the last person he could find it in himself to care about. For years, he had protected Konoha from the shadows. He had eliminated several threats, uncovered plots before they could be set in motion, and most of all… he had kept the existence of his godson hidden from the prying eyes of the other nations.

As the son of the Yondaime Hokage, jinchuriki of the most powerful of the nine bijuu, Naruto's mere existence would have be reason enough to start conflicts that could escalate into a full-blown world war. What had been Jiraiya's reward? How was he repaid for his efforts? The poor boy had been slaughtered along with his team, ambushed during a mission that sounded unusual from the get-go. To make things worse, the woman that he had foolishly loved his entire life, even if she had never reciprocated his feelings, had blamed _him_ for Naruto's demise _._

Jiraiya wasn't quickly angered, but that particular argument had escalated into something that couldn't ever be repaired. Only later did he realize that the woman he had once cared for had already been gone for years. Part of her had died with her brother, another part had died with her lover. The Tsunade he knew today was only the husk of the woman he'd once fallen for.

Nagato had decided to trust Jiraiya because the man knew pain. He trusted him because Jiraiya truly wished for a world where people wouldn't suffer for any dumb reason. He desired a world without war, where children would not be turned into jinchuriki, be hated and despised, and not even grieved after their deaths. He sought a world without death, so that people wouldn't end up becoming the broken-hearted shells of their former selves. He yearned for a world where teachers could see their students grow to surpass them, and to happily die at old age, knowing that his students would still be around to carry on his legacy.

The man without hope or goals had found Pein, and Pein had shown him a way to a future where people would not suffer as they did now. Jiraiya would never have accepted such a plan, would never have condoned such a slaughter, and yet…

"For a world where people would not go to war, a world that wouldn't suffer as we suffer, that is why I joined you, Nagato," Jiraiya sighed. "It is better to sacrifice thousands, so that we can rescue millions. That is why I captured the Gobi jinchuriki, and aided you in locating the Rokubi. And yet… if this boy truly is _him_ , I don't know if I can attack him."

Jiraiya didn't know the truth. Tsunade had sent him a report, that Yamanaka Ino had found Naruto- a blond boy with the mokuton kekkei genkai, who possessed strength beyond anything she had ever seen since her own grandfather. She wrote that the kekkei genkai made it impossible to sense the chakra of the Kyuubi, but that they had spoken with it.

It was cheap tricks, Konan had told him. The boy is dead, the toads mourned. It was the delusions of a heartbroken young girl and an old drunkard, Nagato said. Even in front of the five kage, it wouldn't be impossible to deceive everyone, especially not when Kunomori was as skilled as rumored. Imitating voices, changing appearances… even Jiraiya would be able to fool them if he wished to. And yet, the doubt kept gnawing at his conscience. The boy who now resided in Konoha acted somewhat differently from the Naruto he knew, the Kyuubi could not be sensed, but… _what if?_

"I see. You wish to return to Konoha," Nagato frowned. He and Zetsu had arranged that the man would get the information necessary to let him remain loyal. Why did the man still act so stubbornly? All facts pointed at another direction, yet he stubbornly kept looking the other way: why? "You wish to see for yourself whether the boy truly is Naruto or not. Is your resolve so fragile, sensei? I thought you joined us because you wished to create a world where people wouldn't suffer like those you cared about. Why are you so eager to believe the obvious lies of that Yamanaka girl?"

"I know… I know, but still… if Naruto survived, I have to meet him," Jiraiya scowled. If Nagato had not already been aware that the old man had been broken, he would've seen it now. Jiraiya, no matter his skill or reputation, was simply a man who craved for family, for love. It was a distraction.

A black rod shot from the construction in which Nagato's body rested. The rod hit Jiraiya before the older man even realized what had happened.

"I thought you were a more valuable asset while you were loyal to us out of your own volition, but if I have to force you to follow my ideals, then so be it."

"N-Nagato, what is… this…?"

"Hush, sensei. You wanted peace. Abandon your foolish desire, and allow me to guide you," Nagato glared at the older man. Jiraiya's attempts to resist the chakra rods were futile. Perhaps if he had been in sage mode already, that might have given him a chance to resist Nagato's subjugating chakra. "Now, the Uzumaki Naruto that resides in Konoha is a fake. It is all a ruse, created by that desperate Yamanaka girl. You will serve Akatsuki, and ignore the lies."

"The Uzumaki Naruto in Konoha is a fake," Jiraiya repeated with a voice devoid of any emotion, the invading chakra exploiting the man's doubts and overriding the part of his free will that led him to wanting to return to Konoha. Nagato did not require more rods, as Jiraiya's body did not need to be controlled, nor did he wish Jiraiya to wield the power of the rinnegan. No, this one rod was enough to shatter the doubts in the man's mind. All he needed was a nudge, it wasn't necessary for Nagato to completely control the man's body and soul. "I will serve Akatsuki," the older man confirmed.

Unseen by both men, Konan stood just outside the room where Nagato resided. Her face contorted in a sad and pained grimace, tears blinking in her eyes.

' _Nagato… why do you resort to violence and treachery when we are striving for a world of peace? How far are you willing to plunge yourself into this darkness? This is not what Yahiko gave his life for. This is not what Yahiko would have wanted.'_

The jinchuriki were an unfortunate, but necessary sacrifice for their goals. The corrupt villages needed to be put to a halt, and Konan understood that this too would cause many casualties. But _this_ wasn't what she wanted, this wasn't what Akatsuki was supposed to be. What Nagato did with Ajisai's corpse, what Nagato now did to Jiraiya, their sensei, it was… It was difficult enough to cooperate with deranged people like Orochimaru and Hidan, but to see her oldest and only remaining friend resort to this was painful.

She sighed and walked away. She couldn't afford to show her doubt now. Nagato was already on edge. They were close, so very close. Jiraiya had brought them the Gobi, and Kisame was on his way back with the Hachibi. Although, Hidan had somehow been killed, or permanently incapacitated. Konan knew that the religious fanatic couldn't be killed, not by the common definition of the word at least. First there would be the Gobi and the Nanabi, having the lower amount of tails, and then they would seal the Hachibi. After those were sealed, it would be time to hunt down the Kyuubi. However, it would take much more time to seal the bijuu with only five remaining members.

There was no room for doubts, and yet Konan couldn't get them out of her head.

* * *

"Y-you're choking me," Naruto gasped. "Air. Please! Can't… breathe…" He sucked in the fresh air when she released him from her hold, overjoyed, in complete and utter disbelief, and crying out of sheer joy. That was how Naruto would describe Yamanaka Yuriko at this point. Her daughter, Ino, watched the scene with a bemused smile.

"Look at you! You've become so tall! You've become a real man now!"

"You're alive," Yamanaka Inoichi patted his wife on her back, attempting to comfort her a little, while looking at Naruto. He was at least as stunned as she was, although he managed to keep his composure. "You survived."

"Yeah, I did," Naruto lied through his teeth, keeping up his smile. He didn't want to give poor Yuriko a second heart attack by telling her how his life during the past years had been. "I'm sorry for worrying you all this much," he added sheepishly. "I only recovered my memories recently."

"I see," Inoichi gave him a look, as if the man saw that Naruto was deeply troubled. It was no real surprise, considering his profession, but still… it somewhat annoyed Naruto that the man had so easily seen through his façade. "And what will you do now?"

"Fight at Konoha's side in the upcoming war," Naruto shrugged, deliberately not stating that he'd fight _for_ Konoha. "After that… I'm not sure."

"War?" both adult Yamanaka's frowned, Inoichi especially, at Naruto's choice of words.

"Baa-chan will explain it soon. Akatsuki is after the bijuu, and they've seized control of Amegakure as well. The five villages will cooperate to eliminate the threat."

"Naruto-kun, do you really want to go to war?" Ino hesitated. She didn't like seeing how he had changed. More stress might make him even worse.

"I'll have to," Naruto looked at her, somewhat confused by the question. "Who else is going to take down Akatsuki's leader?" he looked around, and sighed. "This is a mistake, I shouldn't be here. I should-"

"Stop hesitating," Ino cut him off. "I told you that first I'm going to show you the garden. Dad, you have to see this!"

Naruto surrendered with a sigh, and turned to walk towards the flowerbeds behind the house. The two stupefied Yamanaka followed after sharing a look. Inoichi had felt the power which Naruto radiated, but also had seen the pain in the boy's eyes. Ino more or less dragged Naruto on, and put him in front of the garden, giving him an expectant look.

"What?"

"Well, grow it," Ino frowned as if it had been obvious what she wanted from him. "Show them what you can do!"

"I'm not some kind of circus animal," Naruto grumbled. "But fine." With one hand to the ground, his eyes closed, the Uzumaki concentrated for a moment. Inoichi noticed how his chakra spread, but at first did not realize what was going on. Until Yuriko pointed at the suddenly budding flowers. Plants grew in a matter of seconds, all due to Naruto. Even the dead tree in the back of the garden…

"Mokuton," Inoichi whispered. "That is impossible… it shouldn't be possible. And yet," he blinked a few times, while also disrupting his own chakra flow in order to check that he wasn't caught by a genjutsu. "This is unbelievable."

"I suppose. I've grown used to it by now," Naruto still had that guarded look. He didn't doubt that Ino was already making plans to make a huge profit out of this, as his skills would turn their flower shop into a goldmine. Perhaps it was the ryo signs in her eyes that gave her away? "Inoichi-san, I know things are different from three years ago. I know that I am different, at least. But do you still trust me?"

"I do," he replied after a short pause.

"Then take your family inside, and don't let them come out of the house. No matter what happens, stay inside," Naruto said calmly. "Don't just stand there, move."

Not understanding what was going on, Ino looked at her father, who was suddenly looking at the trees surrounding their garden. "Do as he says, Ino, you too Yuriko," Inoichi fell back on deeply ingrained habits. Ambush. Naruto would confront them, and he left it to Inoichi to ensure that Ino and Yuriko remained safe and sound. He'd cover their retreat. But why here? Why now? And who would do this?

"Get out and show yourselves, you idiots," Naruto snapped. "Hiding amidst the trees. Do you really think that I would not notice the lot of you? Pathetic."

"You are better than expected," the apparent leader of the masked shinobi droned.

Naruto turned around and started to walk, without a worry in the world. The masked anbu all exchanged looks, wondering if their opponent had lost his mind. Their masks, all bearing some kind of demonic portrait, did not allow them to see each other's expressions, but… well, they didn't have much emotions to show anyway. When Naruto suddenly moved, they were all forced to follow.

He moved some distance away, to a small clearing attached to a home that had been abandoned long before Naruto left, The kind old man that lived there had died several years before Naruto's unwilling defection, but Naruto still remembered how the Yamanaka had offered him and Ino cookies whenever they helped him out by doing small errands. Naruto smiled fondly at the somewhat-dilapidated house, before bracing himself for the inevitable.

"Konoha anbu, here with the intent to harm me. I see you were smart enough to all follow me, rather than try something foolish against the Yamanaka," Naruto didn't even look at his assailants. He didn't need to. "Tell me, whom do you serve?"

"Our names and allegiances do not matter," the same masked man replied. His mask had six eyes, and a painted mouth filled with animalistic teeth. "Yours, however, do."

"Ah, so you are here to see whose tool I am," Naruto chuckled. "I'd suggest you go back to your masters, and tell them that I have no allegiances left. My one and only goal is to create a world of peace."

"An idealist. How disappointing. Konoha has suffered enough due to idealists who wished for peace."

"If you are insulting the old man, I suggest you scram."

"For someone who wishes peace, you are awfully aggressive," a younger Anbu spoke up. "Peace would require us to trust people who have repeatedly proven that they cannot be trusted. Peace requires power, power to force the others into submission! Yet you think you can just create peace, all by yourself? For someone who foolish enough to strive for such an impossibility, you should-"

What Naruto should do was something he would never say. A tree branch broke through the boy's back, piercing through his broken ribs and shattering his spine, in an explosion of blood. With a hard expression in his eyes, Naruto moved his hands through a flurry of hand seals. He didn't even utter the name of the first jutsu, which in part might explain why the surviving Anbu responded too late. By that time, the second jutsu was already budding. "Mokuton: Kajukai Korin," Naruto almost whispered.

The trees grew flowers, and the flowers covered the area in pollen which rendered the anbu unconscious. Well, except for two fools who thought that they could rush at Naruto. Naruto didn't know why these people were underestimating him so much. ' _Well, it might also be me. I've only fought against monsters lately. Yagura, Orochimaru, Kakuzu… those guys were at a completely different level. Perhaps I've simply become too strong for a bunch of run-of-the-mill anbu. Oh well, let's take the live ones to Inoichi.'_

Looking at his left, Naruto smiled. They were truly idiots. Did they honestly think he wouldn't have noticed the backup who had been spying at the fight from a distance? ' _Already tagged with a seed. After I drop those fools at Inoichi's, I'll take care of that mess. Why won't I be surprised if it leads me to Danzo?'_

* * *

"Those levels of chakra," Kurotsuchi grit her teeth in anger. "Gramps, you should wait."

"I know," Onoki glared at his granddaughter. "And remember who you are talking to."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry Tsuchikage-sama," she rolled her eyes. "But that guy is insane! If we can feel him from here, I don't even want to think how strong he is when fighting him up close."

"He truly is his father's son," Onoki sighed. "That bastard of a Namikaze was a horror on the battlefield as well, although for different reasons. While he had his inhuman speed, his offspring has this power. The combination of mokuton and a bijuu's chakra, it is preposterous… we should count ourselves lucky that he defected from Akatsuki."

"Perhaps, but once this war ends, he'll be a major threat."

"That is for sure. Then again, if the leader of Akatsuki is as strong as is said, it might lead to situations where this Uzumaki Naruto is weakened enough for us to take down," Onoki looked up at his granddaughter. "Remember that a kage carries the weight of an entire village. If a kage strikes, he or she should strike at the exact right moment, or risk that the backlash will harm the village as well. Don't let yourself be distracted by foolish pride."

"Yes, gramps."

"Kurotsuchi…"

"Tsuchikage-sama," she sighed. "Seriously, why the formality?"

"We're residing in an enemy village. My every action reflects on our village. Every weakness I show is one that other villages will attempt to exploit. Always be mindful of the perception others have of you, Kurotsuchi. It is why I still can't step down. You youngsters would only make a mess out of things. Like that Kazekage girl…"

The old Tsuchikage paused when someone knocked at the door. It annoyed him. The hotel at which they were staying had promised them privacy. But someone had the audacity to open the door and limp into the room, a cane tapping on the ground with every other step.

* * *

Tsunade jumped down, hard enough for her feet to leave imprints on the stone soil. "What is going on?" she demanded.

"Didn't Ino inform you?"

"Yes, she did," the Senju scowled at the seemingly peaceful Naruto. He just sat there, meditating. "What is going on?"

He pointed. "There. It is a hidden latch which opens the way to an underground base. I've sent my Myouou to eradicate this clandestine hideout," Naruto looked at her, talking calmly as if he was discussing something as ordinary as the weather, rather than five murderous wooden demons who were massacring an entire anbu division as they spoke. While useful, the drawback of these constructs was that they attacked indiscriminately, murdering everyone except the one who created them. As such, Naruto could only use them when the conditions were right, or he would risk hurting his allies. Danzo holing up his men in an underground facility basically provided Naruto with an easy way to wipe them all out. "I've used my mokuton to cut off any escape route these tunnel rats have. In essence, I'm herding them, leading them towards my automatons. I don't think they ever expected this happening to them, because it's a complete massacre."

"A hidden base like this, in Konoha?" Tsunade frowned. "How?"

"Inoichi is approaching," Naruto pointed in the direction behind her. "Perhaps he found something in the minds of those that attacked me earlier."

It turned out that he did. It took him several tries, as their minds had been protected extremely well. Every time he made a mistake, Inoichi had triggered a suicide switch, and instantly lost the one whose mind he tried to invade. But with some trial and error, as well as a dose of luck, he managed to get some information out of the last captive. "Danzo," he grunted.

"Shizune!" Tsunade barked. Her right hand instantly appeared. "Send out the anbu. Shimaru Danzo is to be brought to me. Right here, right now."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," the raven-haired young woman bowed.

"Hm, I should've planted a seed on him, in order to keep track of him," Naruto frowned. "I knew that after the way I introduced myself, either Iwa or elements within Konoha would attack me. I am too valuable a piece in the game to be ignored, after all. Some genius would get the idea that Akatsuki is best hindered by killing the Kyuubi's jinchuriki… but Danzo isn't even in his own hideout. Instead this place was rigged with more traps than I could count. I even lost two of my Myouou thanks to that. Hell, if I had gone in myself I could've actually lost a limb or two. What could he be planning?"

"That old warmonger is always planning something," Tsunade spat. "Hiding an entire division, one that was supposedly closed down under the Sandaime's rule, is testament to that."

"Warmonger?" Naruto blinked.

"Yeah, he's always blabbering about Konoha needing to be the dominant force in the world, how peace can only be achieved if the five nations are united under one rule. He… what are you doing?" Tsunade wondered, confused why Naruto suddenly jumped up.

"Making sure our newly established alliance isn't flushed down the drain." He took off; leaving the Anbu and jonin that had arrived to back up Tsunade in the dust. Even the Hokage had to strain herself to keep up with the young mokuton user.

It actually made sense, now that she considered it. While there were plenty of techniques to refine and improve speed, a shinobi needed, in its most basic form, chakra to enhance their movements. So the more chakra one had, the faster one would be able to move. Even as someone who was trained as a ninjutsu specialist rather than a close combat specialist, Naruto had access to more chakra than any other person Tsunade knew. Sure, he had admitted it himself that the Raikage was faster. Tsunade also expected that people like Maito Gai were superior in terms of speed, but Naruto would likely have his own methods of dealing with such people.

' _Not to mention that he is a jinchuriki. Using their bijuu's chakra, a jinchuriki usually is able to bump up their speed another notch or two,'_ the Senju considered. Just as suddenly as he had taken off, he suddenly halted as well. In a fraction of a second, Tsunade realized why. The entire side of the building in front of them had been blown to bits. Corpses were scattered around, both of Iwa and of the traitorous Root anbu division. In the midst of that chaos, three figures stood. One, old and tiny, was poised half a step in front of a worn-down young woman, while the last of the three was none other than Danzo. Danzo had more than just one eye, it seemed.

"Danzo! What the hell are you doing?!" Tsunade barked. "Have you completely lost it?"

The old man scowled deeply. Both old men did, actually. Onoki was on guard, not sure what Naruto and Tsunade would do. The man was sweating, nearing the point of exhaustion, while his granddaughter had fallen on her knees, being in a far worse condition. The entire area was in a state of chaos, the result of various devastating jutsu being cast. Danzo looked at Tsunade with unveiled contempt. "I am doing what you should have done from the start: the elimination of those who support Akatsuki. This foolish alliance will only bring ruin to Konoha. Iwa has used the services of Akatsuki before, and will undoubtedly be thrilled to let Akatsuki wear us down for them. If you had not spent your time being inebriated, you would have known that Iwa would only agree with this fool's errand in order to eliminate us."

"Not everyone acts and thinks like you do, Danzo," Tsunade cracked her knuckles. "You have committed treason against Konohagakure. Your life is forfeit."

"It is but a small price to pay for the sake of the village," Danzo smiled wryly. "Although it is unfortunate that my men were incapable of bringing down the jinchuriki, even after all the effort I put into creating such a perfect trap."

"Your hideout was indeed offering you a perfect chance at trapping me," Naruto spoke up for the first time since his arrival. "But you should have considered that I would be capable of sending out my constructs. Did you honestly think that I would enter the facility without scanning it first? I'm not the impetuous and naïve kid I once was. Your plans were too crude, too hasty. That is why you have failed."

"What do you know, you disloyal brat," Danzo scoffed. "Iwa's betrayal was inevitable. Either eliminating their strongest, or subjugating him to our will, that was the best course of action." Yes, and that had all gone sour as well. Kotoamatsukami had barely been cast when that foolish granddaughter had jumped into the fray. Jumping to her defense, as well as breaking Danzo's concentration, Onoki had instinctively attacked Danzo. The genjutsu had only partly worked, confusing the old Tsuchikage, but that vexing girl had prevented Danzo from exploiting any of the opportunities which Onoki had given him. Too many sharingan had been wasted.

Just when he had them right where he wanted, the accursed brat and Tsunade showed up. Danzo already knew that the Anbu and several jonin were closing in, and had covertly signaled what little remained of his operatives to stall those reinforcements. There was still a tiny chance for things to work out.

"Onoki, kill the Namikaze," Danzo calmly ordered the Tsuchikage to do his bidding. Knowing that the old man had a desire to kill the boy, Danzo estimated that he had just enough hold over him to be able to pull it off. And with his jinton (dust release), Onoki was one of the few who would be able to penetrate the Uzumaki boy's defenses.

"How about not doing such a thing," Naruto sighed, almost sounding bored. Tentacles of wood burst from the ground, restraining the last three players of this strange dance. Tsunade moved forward, ordering Naruto not to hurt the Iwa nin, but Naruto just shrugged it off. He couldn't afford to look away from the reappearing Danzo. "Those thorns pierced your flesh," Naruto mumbled. "How did you disappear and reappear unharmed?"

Danzo didn't answer, but the furious look in his eyes was telling. He had just been forced to waste yet another sharingan by using Izanagi to escape death. "Futon: Shinku Taigyoku (Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere)," he growled, compressing the entirety of the previously inhaled breath into a single large, crushing sphere of wind chakra that he to expelled from his mouth.

Caught off guard, Naruto had to use several vines to root himself to the ground, in order not to be blown away. Tsunade, while not directly targeted by the jutsu, had less luck.

With several gashes over his body, the now-bleeding Naruto closed his eyes. ' _Well, I had intended to give everyone a show of our power. That way, they'll stop with their foolish attempts to attack us.'_

" _ **Are you sure it is wise to reveal your senjutsu?**_ _"_

' _Akatsuki already knows, so who cares? Let the five villages fear me, or otherwise trust our power. In this war, we can't afford distractions. Are you with me, Kurama?'_

" _ **What choice do I have?**_ _"_ the fox replied dryly. But the surge of chakra which Naruto felt through his body, rapidly healing the shallow wounds, told a different story. Kurama was eager to get this over with. With access to far more chakra of his own (well, his own and Kurama's) Naruto realized that it was far easier to absorb natural energy. It went faster, and Naruto could gather _more_.

Perhaps that was why the wooden dragon was bigger than usual. It shot out, quick as a snake, capturing Danzo in its jaws. The mental command to murder the man was hardly necessary, as if the dragon felt its master's intent. Yet, once again Danzo disappeared.

Once again Danzo resurfaced unharmed. Well, with the exception of losing a sizable chuck of his chakra reserves. Sage mode was definitely useful when it came to his sensory perception, and Naruto was quick on the uptake. Even if Danzo was somehow capable of escaping from death, he'd only be able to do it a limited number of times. With his current reserves, Naruto estimated that five or six casts would render him incapable of fighting seriously.

Naruto's eyes narrowed when he noticed a second oddity. Danzo's arm was covered with eyes, yet many were already closed. In fact, after his latest dis- and re-appearance, one more eye had been closed. From the way they were disconnected from Danzo's chakra, Naruto realized that those eyes had 'died'.

"I see. So my jutsu would be useless," Naruto scowled, ending the Mokuryo no Jutsu with a single flick of his fingers. "You are an annoying opponent, old man. Are you sure you don't want to fall in line and simply obey the orders your Hokage gives you? You would be useful when we are going to attack Amegakure…"

Danzo said nothing, but his defiance was clear. Danzo was an extremist, and he had committed himself to a different path. It was a path which had led to failure, but nonetheless he could not abandon it.

"Senpo Mokuton: Shin Juichimen Kan'on (Sage Art Wood Release: the True Eleven-Headed Kan'on)," Naruto looked down on the startled man. Ever during Naruto's drastic increases in chakra, Danzo had barely shown any change in expression. The creation of the gigantic statue, on the other hand, left him speechless.

" _ **You wanted a show, and you've given one.**_ "

"Yes, Kurama, we have," Naruto smirked, silently thanking the bijuu. Without Kurama's aid, Naruto would not be able to create this colossal statue this easily. Standing atop its head, which was adorned with the eleven heads it was known for, Naruto realized that this appearance, in the middle of the village, would most definitely leave an impression. It easily towered over any building within Konoha, after all.

The palm of Juichimen's right hand, the hand which annulled any jutsu, shot down at the stunned old man. Well, to be fair, Naruto had to admit that he cheated a little, using several vines to prevent Danzo from escaping. The Kan'on's size and strength made it nearly invulnerable, but its lumbering speed was a huge downside. Oh well, when killing prey a hunter shouldn't be too picky in his methods, this was a lesson which Kakuzu had taught well. Besides, underhanded tactics were second nature to any shinobi.

" _ **You do realize that this just about redefines the word 'overkill', don't you?**_ _"_

Naruto smiled faintly, agreeing with the wily old fox, though not without thinking about the irony that the Kyuubi, of all creatures, was accusing him of overkill. No, this was necessary. Pein was strong, and who knew what other contingencies Akatsuki had planned? There was no room for this shinobi alliance to be weak. If there was still doubt and hesitation, a skilled spy like Zetsu would undoubtedly find ways to exploit it. ' _The worst thing to happen would be if one of more of the villages would decide to betray the others on the worst possible moment. And I take it you don't want to end up being a part of the Juubi again.'_

" _ **Hmpf. Just remember that those pests will be terrified of you. That fear might give them reason to attack us as well, the moment you show any sign of weakness.**_ _"_

' _As long as it is after this war,'_ Naruto mentally shrugged. Right now, those long-term consequences were of a lesser importance. Right now, crushing Danzo was a more urgent matter- Danzo, who was currently trapped under the giant right hand of the eleven-headed Kan'on.

That same Danzo was in a state of silent panic. He could _see_ that the wooden statue expelled some sort of strange chakra, blocking off his. His broken body caused him great pain, and the continued pressure of the giant would undoubtedly crush him completely. It was bad enough on a normal day, but even worse now. Normally, Danzo had his escape mechanism. Izanagi was supposed to be an infallible way to cheat death, making illusions reality, thus undoing any lethal damage. And yet… why was that statue's chakra inhibiting him from controlling his own chakra?

He couldn't perform a single jutsu!

"For the acts of treason committed, assaulting the Tsuchikage and acting against the will of the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure, I hereby condemn you to death, Shimura Danzo," Naruto spoke up, loud enough for the gathered audience to hear. After all, one does not create a gigantic wooden statue without attracting attention. Apart from the native shinobi, the Kazekage, Mizukage, and Raikage were all there, flanked by their respective guards.

His senses extended through the Kan'on, Naruto felt the sickening snapping of Danzo's bones. This time, the old crone didn't disappear and reappear. Still, to be perfectly clear, Naruto exerted more pressure. Then, the arm with all the sharingan embedded in them suddenly grew out of control.

"I wonder how he constructed that arm," Naruto mumbled to himself. "Growing into a tree, it doesn't make any sense. Oh well," he sighed. No heartbeat. No active chakra. The man was dead. Time to end the show. A single hand sign ended the jutsu, and the gigantic statue shrunk back into the ground, leaving only the mass of roots and the tiny tree which sprouted from Danzo's arm. On the other hand, it was oddly fitting that the man had grown roots. Not to mention that the tree's leaves had a familiar shade of crimson, one which Naruto dubbed as 'sharingan red'.

"Brat," Tsunade's brow twitched. "Did you just execute one of the village elders in the middle of the village?"

"Eyesight doesn't get any better with age, does it?" Naruto retorted with a joke that he knew would get under Tsunade's skin. "The old man tried to attack the Tsuchikage. He still seems weird, you might wanna check up on him. You're the healer, after all…"

"We'll talk about this later," she promised ominously. Naruto smirked when he realized that Kakuzu could've learned a thing or two from the woman when it came to giving dirty looks. Obviously, she did not like how he, a shinobi whose affiliations were disputed, acted with such force in the middle of her village.

As he was turning back to return to the Yamanaka family, the Kazekage approached him. He saw the Raikage's appreciating look, and the Mizukage's well-concealed fear, but Temari of the sand seemed mostly unfazed by what had just occurred. "Kazekage-sama," he bowed slightly.

"Naruto," she spoke with a hostility that confused Naruto a bit, until the details connected.

"It's been a while, Temari. I'm sorry," Naruto apologized. "I'm sorry for what happened to Gaara."

"Why?" It was one word, yet she asked many questions with it.

"Because I did not remember him. You tend to put things in a different perspective when having no recollection of anything. Zetsu and Kakuzu practically reeducated me from scratch, trained me to become the perfect weapon- and a tool doesn't second-guess its wielder's commands," he looked Temari in the eyes and gestured her to follow him. "If I had known… I couldn't have killed, or aided in killing, a friend. If I had remembered him, I would have done all I could to rescue him. But sadly, I did not remember."

"Since when _do_ you remember?"

"A few days," Naruto answered honestly. "I had some weird dreams, faintly recognized some of the people of my past, but it was all too vague. A few days ago… well, back when Zetsu tried to use one of his goons to take control of my body, my memories were sealed away. A few days ago, I was in a rather bad state of mind. Losing the one you love tends to bring people down. In my case, as a jinchuriki, emotions sometimes trigger more than just tears."

"Gaara struggled," Temari mumbled. "You defeated him, you gave him a chance to be himself again. But when he learned you died, he almost lost that fragile balance. Kankuro and I had trouble reaching him, but eventually we got through to him. We told him that you would never want him to give up. He became Kazekage because of you, Uzumaki Naruto. You inspired him. It is why I find it so bitter that you were amongst the people who killed him."

"I understand," Naruto sighed. "There are many things I must atone for. Unknowingly or not, I caused a lot of grief. Or aided in causing it. While I cannot say that I regret capturing the tyrant Yagura, practically ending the civil war in Kiri, I am ashamed that I captured the jinchuriki of the Nanabi. Fu was a good person, despite the problems that she had to face as a jinchuriki. She, like Gaara, deserved a better life… but this world doesn't care about such things as fairness," he looked up, watching the clouds drift by. "We are all sinners, Temari. You, as a kage, must understand that."

"…"

"I spent a lot of time in Amegakure," Naruto spoke up after she remained silent. "The people of Ame have suffered a lot at the hands of shinobi of Iwa, Suna, and Konoha. The actions of the five villages have given birth to Akatsuki, Temari. The shinobi world is rotten. Double-crossing and death is the standard among shinobi, but the civilians and weak villages are simply condemned to suffer at the hands of those stronger than them. No, what I want is a world of peace. A world where people like Fu, Gaara, or me… aren't _created_. A world not filled with traumatized people, or else another Akatsuki will inevitably rise."

"By the sound of it, _you_ are the next Akatsuki."

"Nope," Naruto chuckled. "Mass murder, hoarding power, those things don't matter to me. I only want peace. I promised I'd give her a world of peace. I don't care about myself, I have no goals left. With the exception of death. Like I said, I have plenty of sins to atone for…"

"Don't you want to become Hokage?" Temari frowned.

"Me? I don't think I'm still fit to lead a Konoha. Besides, my agenda will most likely not align with Konoha's."

"How do you even think you're going to achieve your goals, all by yourself?" Temari disagreed. "You will need others, Naruto. Powerful as you may be, you cannot achieve your dream just by yourself- unless you are planning to use your power to enforce the peace. And the Naruto I know would never want that. Besides, do you think Gaara just did what the village wanted?"

"…"

"Do you know how much Gaara hated it? The village shunned him, our father 'created' him, as you said, and the rest of his family was too afraid to get close. He hated himself, lost himself, until you stopped him. After that, he decided that it was pointless to keep hating the world, and that he was going to change things. He changed our village by leading it. Think about it, Naruto. You always talked about becoming Hokage. How are you going to change the world, if you can't even change your own village?"

To that, Naruto had no answer. Temari bid him farewell and headed off to her own quarters. Surprisingly confused, Naruto walked towards the Yamanaka's place, wondering what he should do. Temari was right, in a sense. He had no real solutions, no path he intended to take that would lead to a lasting peace. How was he going to change things, if he didn't even want to change the village he once called home? Was it because he didn't want to make Tsunade an enemy?

' _Things were much easier when I didn't give a damn about anything.'_

" _ **Easier or emptier? Don't lie to yourself, brat…**_ _"_

What was it that he wanted? He was torn. The old Naruto was obsessively loyal to Konoha, yet the new one knew that Konoha wasn't nearly as perfect as it pretended to be. The new Naruto knew about the darker secrets, which caused grief to those living between borders, or those who had turned away from their villages, seeking an escape which did not exist in this world. He had hunted those people. The poor Yamanaka woman still came to mind. He had done it all for money. Money, it made kept the machine of war operating.

' _Why was it that Suna had attacked Konoha? Not just due to Orochimaru's deception, but because of a lack of funding. Konoha had been too successful, and as a result, Suna had gotten fewer missions from its daimyo. Money. Missions provide pay. And without conflict, there were far fewer missions. A world of peace would be counterproductive. Peace would destroy the economy that sustains the hidden villages.'_

" _ **Do you intend to raze all the hidden villages to the ground? That would end this system.**_ _"_

' _No, if I wanted that I wouldn't have defected from Akatsuki. Perhaps Temari is right. I still need to find an answer. Why shouldn't I begin to seek for that answer right here?'_

" _ **Hmpf. At least you're not arrogant enough to presume that you already know the one best way to solve everything."**_

Lost in thought, Naruto was surprised when he saw Ino standing in front of him. "Ino?"

"Mom's a bit tired from all the chaos of today. Dad's still busy at T&I. How about getting a bite to eat downtown?"

"It's been three years since I last ate ramen," Naruto blinked. "Three years. I wonder how I managed to survive without it."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Hokage or Nokage? A hard question for Naruto, who's aware of both sides of the equation. He wants peace, but does he want it by joining and leading the system, or would he rather act outside the system and enforce changes from there? I asked you last time what I should do with his conundrum, and I was amazed to see how much response I got after the previous chapter. Even happier I was when I saw how many people agreed with my ideas for this story. This Naruto isn't Hokage material, and his ideals reach beyond the mere limits of Konoha. I'm proud that I managed to convey that properly.

Of course, I won't spoil you on what I'm planning to do, with _how_ Naruto will try to achieve peace. **Illuminated** knows, but he's privileged. Being the editor/beta reader does have its perks. But if you have ideas as well, please share!

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	15. Purpose

_Updating two stories on one day? Yes, this is my little birthday extravaganza, so I'm updating both Asunder and The Honoured Guest in one go! Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Asunder**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

 **Purpose**

* * *

" _The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting."_

― Sun Tzu

* * *

 _Light green eyes kept following his every move. "What's wrong, Ajisai?" he asked, growing tired of the constant staring._

" _Nothing, Kunomori-sama," Ajisai replied calmly, although a slight pinkish hue was visible on her cheeks._

 _Naruto wondered why. Had she stayed out in the rain for too long, and caught a cold? "Can you at least just call me by my name, and cut it out with those honorifics?"_

" _I cannot," the purple-haired girl inclined her head respectfully._

" _Whatever," he just shook his head. "I'm going inside," he pointed at the cabin. "Do you want something to eat?"_

" _I'll go fetch something," she bowed, already turning before he grew a wooden wall in order to halt her._

" _I asked you if you wanted something to eat, not because I wanted you to fetch something," Naruto sighed. "So stay. Or do I have to order you to stay?"_

" _As you command, Kunomori-sama."_

" _Ugh, infuriating girl."_

" _My humblest apologies, Kunomori-sama."_

 _He glared at her, with a muscle in his jawline twitching a little due to his annoyance; at least until he saw the faint smile that she quickly hid. Not quickly enough, though. "Oh well, if you're making fun of me, you're at least treating me as a person, that's some progress, I suppose." He shook his head and jumped up to the tree line, towards the cabin he had recently created on the training ground they occupied in Amegakure._

 _Struggling to keep up with his speed, Ajisai was slightly out of breath once she stepped into the refuge-from-the-rain that was the tree cabin._

" _What is it?" Naruto once again asked. "Why do you keep staring?" Inwardly, he asked himself why she unnerved him so much. She wasn't glaring half as intimidatingly as Kakuzu could, nor did she match Konan's impassive store. Never mind that she was unable to match Pein's presence. Yet this girl, a mere chunin in spite of her talent for fuinjutsu, somehow managed to get under his skin._

" _I was not mocking you, Kunomori-sama," she inclined her head slightly._

 _It confused him. Why did it seem like she wished to say more, yet didn't? She seemed to want to move closer, yet kept her distance. Naruto knew he was unaccustomed to proper social interaction, but this girl was a mystery to him. He could see how she hid her awkwardness, yet it puzzled him why she'd even feel like that around him. She was such a composed and polite individual; what reason could she have to feel awkward during what was, for them, normal conversation?_

" _As you say, Ajisai," he sighed, continuing to prepare their food. Judging by her expression, he hadn't chosen the right words. Then again, if she wanted him to say something, she should have made it clear what she wanted in the first place. He sighed and knew he'd have to spend more time on meditation if his mental balance could be shaken so easily._

* * *

They had finished their meal in an uncharacteristic silence. At least, Ino realized, uncharacteristic for the Naruto she had known. Bright, busy, and lots of orange: that had been Naruto, her Naruto. This Naruto was turned out in blue-ish grey, with only the brown-orange sash giving him some color. Now that she thought about it, her question about that sash had been the moment when Naruto had fallen silent. Daydreaming, she guessed, if she had interpreted the faraway look in his eyes correctly.

Still, it was obvious that he had enjoyed his ramen, all eight extra-large bowls of it. The Ichiraku family was overjoyed to see their favorite customer again, and it wasn't just Ayame who cried, even though Teuchi insisted that it happened because he had just spent time cutting onions. They had gone into overdrive, making the most perfect ramen they could. Even when living among the Yamanaka, Naruto had somehow always found opportunities to enjoy ramen. Originally, the boy had been drawn in by the heavenly aroma that came from Ichiraku Ramen. Ayame had often told Ino about how the five-year-old blond boy had stunned them with his voracious appetite.

Ino knew it had been one of the reasons why her mother had kept cooking meals for him, worrying herself that he'd only eat ramen after he had left their home. Considering the Yamanaka matron, Ino never understood why some called Yuriko strict or distant. Sure, she had a bit of an aristocratic aura about her, but in truth she was a big softy. Although, Ino knew better than anyone that she wasn't a woman who tolerated misbehavior. Her father would forgive her anything (an even bigger softy), but her mother… well, if Ino knew she had messed up, she always 'fessed-up to her father first. It usually ended up with her being forgiven by him, after which _he_ would get a scolding from his wife, once she found out what Ino had done.

Life had been simple back then.

Even when she had been under the belief that Naruto had died, life had been simple- depressing, but simple. Now, all things had been twisted and turned into chaos. Naruto had returned, he was alive, yet at the same time, he wasn't 'her' Naruto anymore. The returned Naruto was a killer. He'd crush his enemies with an overwhelming power- power made tangible by a statue that was larger than any building within Konoha. Jinchuriki or no, that was just crazy.

What had happened to the boy who had been reluctant to get into a spar, fearing he might hurt her? The bright sparkle in his heavenly blue eyes had dimmed, with those orbs now looking either cold and empty or filled with pain and remorse. Was this Naruto still the same boy she once loved? ' _Wait, I still love, right?_ _I do still love him, don't I? It's so confusing. He changed so much, and yet…'_

* * *

Not quite as oblivious as she thought he was, Naruto noticed the girl's glances. Whether she was bashful or simply afraid of him, he couldn't tell. Perhaps she had grown uncomfortable due to his prolonged silence? It seemed as if she wanted something from him, something he doubted he could give her. He felt a bit awkward about it. He was still adjusting to having the memories of both his old and his new lives. There were so many conflicting things in his mind, it was simply maddening.

Also, there was the fact that Temari had poked the beehive that was his mind. Thoughts were buzzing angrily: doubts, hesitations, uncertainties. What was his purpose? He had wanted to give the one who had made him happy a happy life without worries, a world of peace and prosperity where they could grow old together. It had been a fool's hope. She had perished, leaving him alone in this cold and empty world. The ideas he once had, they now seemed like pathetic attempts at building castles in the sky.

Still, he owed it to her to try, as he had promised Ajisai he'd bring peace to the world, and he would. But how? Temari had made him think about it. His mind had been filled with thoughts of vengeance, and then those had been overturned by the return of his original memories, and now… how did he want to create peace? Do it as a rogue, forcing all the nations into peace simply because he was too strong for them? While he knew he didn't want to be bound again, like he was when he was Zetsu's tool, he also realized that Temari was right: all alone, he wouldn't change a thing. He could become a tyrant, ruling because none dared to oppose him, yet ultimately change nothing about the problems in their world.

How would he create a lasting peace? How would he be able to end wars? Recalling Temari's story, Naruto wondered how Gaara had endured it all. Gaara had lived a life even worse than his, yet while Naruto had lost his way, Gaara had been able to push on. Gaara had a goal, ironically, because Gaara had been inspired by Naruto's actions and words. Naruto wondered how it had been possible for him to have such a big impact on his fellow jinchuriki. He was all the more disgusted by the idea that he had been one of the nine who had extracted the Ichibi, that he had murdered Gaara.

He sighed. ' _What right do I have to proclaim that I'd bring peace? I have lived years filled with murder, yet now I'm suddenly a bringer of peace? And how? By destroying other villages? It seems unlikely that an act of such violence would ever end violence. It would be a false peace, just like the one which Pein tries to create.'_

If only Ajisai was here. She had held the strange gift of understanding his worries, usually acting before he even realized what he was missing. While she had held a much narrower view on the world, she had also possessed far more wisdom than him. He'd been a tool before he met her, yet she had woken him from his slumber. Solemn as she had been, Ajisai had been far more practical than him. She would know how he would be able to bring change: as a vagrant, as a kage?

' _Perhaps Ino knows,'_ he frowned. Looking at his side, he saw the saddened blonde. He didn't know why, but suddenly the memory crossed his mind. He couldn't help but laugh.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Ino was startled by his sudden outburst.

"I'm sorry, Ino," he chuckled. "It's just… I remembered. You know, the promise we made before I left on my last mission? That date sure turned out different than what we expected back then. But at least I got ramen after all that happened."

"Date?" she blinked.

"Heh," he wiped away a tear from his fit of laughter- not a fit of laughter from amusement, but rather one caused by the bitterness he felt. "Don't mind my blabbering. But it's kinda ironic how things turned out. Three years have passed, but to be honest, it feels more like an entire lifetime." Only now did he realize that his fellow blonde was blushing. "Look, Ino, I have to confess that this entire situation is rather confusing to me. I mean, I intended to go to Konoha in order to murder you and your team, believing that you four were responsible for Aji-chan's death. I wanted to leave the entire village in shambles. And then I found out the truth behind her death. My world got turned upside-down several times in the course of just a few days. My mind can hardly keep track of everything at this point…"

"I understand. Well, I think I do, at least," Ino hesitated, not without feeling disappointed.

"I honestly hope you never feel anything like this," Naruto sighed. "Do you want to walk with me for a bit?"

"Sure?" she tried to act her normal upbeat self, but failed horribly. At least, Naruto was easily able to see through the act. Saying goodbyes to Teuchi and Ayame, the two blondes took a stroll through the village. Naruto checked that there were no eavesdroppers before he started talking again.

"I know I hurt you, Ino," Naruto admitted. "I mean, we grew up together. I remember it all. I knew you better than I knew myself- my old self, at least. Before I left Konoha… if I smiled it was due to you. If I was sad, it was due to you. You were the first thing I'd think about when waking up, and the last thing on my mind before falling asleep. I guess I was rather hopeless, even if I didn't fully realize it back then," Naruto smiled melancholically. "But whenever I was in trouble, you were there for me. After the old man told me that I was a jinchuriki, you were there to keep me going. When Jii-san died, you were at my side, helping me cope with it. I'd be a horrible friend if I wasn't honest with you now."

"You've changed," Ino mumbled. She felt a sting of pain when he called himself her 'friend', rather than something more than just a friend. "I know that you have. It is confusing me, and… you too, isn't it?"

"More than you know," he sighed again. "Kakuzu murdered Kakashi-sensei, he murdered Sakura-chan, and Zetsu killed Sai. I lost my memories. I was a blank slate, in the hands of a bunch of ruthless murderers. What do you think I did, Ino? They trained me. I can't even recall how many times I have nearly died in that time. It was a difficult time, but I didn't know any better, so I simply endured. I hated Kakuzu for reasons I didn't understand, although in hindsight it was probably due to having some vague memories of him attacking team seven. That hatred was one of the things that kept me going. After that training… Kakuzu said I had to earn my stay. I don't know how many bounties I collected. I turned into a murderer. Again, I didn't know any better. I was their tool, obedient and growing more powerful by the day. I stained my hands with the blood of a great number of people. Some of them were scum, who had earned their bounties through the atrocities they had committed, while others were simply desperately trying to flee the clutches of the hidden villages."

Naruto looked at Ino, seeing her grim expression. He saw how she started to realize, to the full extent, what it meant that he had been part of Akatsuki.

"Do you know how Kakuzu and I got the jinchuriki of the Nanabi?" Naruto asked softly.

"Takigakure… was it you who caused that massacre?"

"We entered the village. Kakuzu had a grudge against Taki, so I already knew what would happen. But after they tried to buy their way out by freely handing over their jinchuriki, an innocent girl who had suffered greatly due to her fate as a jinchuriki, something snapped. Kakuzu snapped as well, because the village sold her out just like they had once sold him out, and-"

"Sold him out?" Ino frowned.

"Before he went rogue, Taki ordered Kakuzu to assassinate our Hokage, the Shodai, that is. Senju Hashirama had the same kekkei genkai as I do, and was probably even stronger than me. Needless to say, Kakuzu failed that mission. He knew it was an impossible mission, right from the start, yet still did the mission out of loyalty to Taki. His answer was swift and merciless: Taki treated him as a criminal, shoving the entire assassination attempt on him, fearing that Konoha might retaliate. They sold him out, even after he had given everything for them. That is why he snapped when they tried to sell out Fuu, their jinchuriki. They basically did the same thing to her that they had done to him. I could have stopped him, prevented the massacre that followed, but I… I thought they deserved it. So I hunted down Fuu, and captured her. I knew she was a good person, and still I did it. Because I believed that Akatsuki was the solution."

"Solution to what?" Ino didn't pretend to understand.

"They offered a way to end the lies, the hypocrisy, the endless conflicts," Naruto narrowed his eyes, feeling angered that part of him still believed Pein's words. "The system of the hidden villages is corrupt. And while I agree, I also think that Akatsuki takes a wrong approach to end it. Massacring entire villages or nations at a time is no way to achieve peace. Sure, the sheer fear might force people into an awkward peace, but it would all be a lie, simply because that peace would be achieved due to the wrong reasons. An act of violence cannot end violence, and won't pave the path to the world of peace I promised Aji-chan."

"You still love her, don't you?"

"I do," Naruto admitted without any hesitation. He knew he'd only make things worse for Ino if he lied about it. Giving her false hope would be unnecessarily cruel, and he valued her too much to inflict such pain. "You now know what Zetsu and Kakuzu turned me into. I led an empty life. Ajisai was the first person who showed me that life entailed more than just that. Perhaps that is why things happened so quickly. I can't say why it happened that way. She was supposed to be my attendant while I stayed in Amegakure for training, but we… fell in love." He looked at the two wooden rings he held at his fingers, one at each index finger, not knowing any other way to describe what had happened. "We got engaged, and I promised that after the entire thing with Akatsuki had ended… well, you know what happened. Zetsu killed her, because I became more difficult to manipulate due to my feelings for her. He removed her. Or perhaps Pein did, I'm not sure. And then, in the middle of that grief, I got my memories back. I lost the girl I loved, and then remembered the girl I loved before losing my memories. I remembered you, while I thought you were the one who killed Aji-chan. That pain was…"

He remained silent for a while, unable to put his feelings into words. Meanwhile, Ino was struggling to keep up with all the things she heard. It didn't surprise her anymore that Naruto had changed as much as he did, if this was what he had suffered. His life had been horrible, and that girl had given him some happiness in it all. The death of Ajisai had broken him, and the return of his memories at that point had done little to help him. If anything, they had made things worse.

"It nearly broke me. I honestly can't say what I feel at this point," Naruto finally spoke up. "I know I love her, and I know I loved you before that, but right now… right now I'm a mess. I guess it'll take some time for me to sort it all out. Although none of it changes the fact that I've become a tainted person."

"But you couldn't help it! They did that to you, you never wanted that!"

"Whether I remembered or not, whether I was taught and commanded to do what I did or not, I still carry the responsibilities for what I have done. I cannot and will not shift the blame of my actions to someone else. They are my sins," Naruto disagreed. "The people I killed are dead regardless of who I'd blame, and died due to my actions. No, the only thing I can do for those people is to make sure that these things will never be repeated. I will change this world. The only question is… how? I'm not fit to lead anymore, am I?"

Ino heard the desperation in his voice. Putting aside that he couldn't say how he felt about her, not that she could say how she felt about him, Ino focused on the question he had actually asked: what to do.

"You always talked about becoming Hokage. Why give that up now?" Ino frowned. "I don't blame you for what you did, Naruto. No one who understood even a little of what you went through would. And what happened doesn't prevent you from being Hokage, does it?"

"Why would the village accept me?"

"You think Tsunade-sama is perfect?" Ino huffed. "All the Hokages have done terrible things, or made decisions which would haunt them in their nightmares. A leader cannot be naïve. You are strong, Naruto. Not just in terms of fighting ability, but also mentally. If you had not endured all that pain, you would not have known about the wrongs of our world, right? I'd say that your experiences only make you _more_ suited to become Hokage."

"But…"

"You know why you want to change things, right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"You know how Tsunade-sama thinks about you," Ino cut him off. "And you'll play a big role in the upcoming war, so the rest of the village will soon accept your strength as well. There isn't anyone in the village that even comes close to your strength, so what's to stop you from becoming Hokage? And wouldn't it be much easier for you to change things once you're Hokage?"

"I… I don't know," Naruto sighed. "I honestly don't. My old self would, he'd want to become Hokage anyway, but my new self would… well, it's conflicting. Perhaps, after the war, I can come to a decision. But right now, I don't feel like I can be part of this village, that I even should be a part of it. I guess I'll have to figure things out first."

Ino hoped he would make the right decision. ' _In spite all his power, he seems so aimless, so… lost. Perhaps if he finds a more tangible goal to pursue, perhaps then he will become like the old Naruto again. Sure, he has changed, more than I ever expected him to, but still… there is hope. Isn't there?'_

* * *

' _Sixth floor. Room number… yes, this should be it._ '

Having made sure that no one noticed her, Konan had sought out the apartment she was looking for. Entering the room, she was rather surprised.

' _On the other hand, I should have expected something like this. Still, this is worth a small fortune,'_ Konan estimated. Wooden furniture of this quality was _very_ valuable in Amegakure. The trade restrictions and the natural lack of high-quality wood made sure of that. Only the older and more 'noble' families had access to this- at least, the few families of that group that had remained. Most of the wealthy and powerful had gone down along with Hanzo.

Neither Nagato nor Konan really thought that nobility was something necessary for society. People shouldn't be worth more or less based on their birth. Nobles thought themselves to be better, but that was hardly ever true. The quality of a person wasn't determined by birth, as far as Konan knew. It was through their characters, their actions and intentions, that people showed their worth.

The apartment wasn't big. It was enough for a single person, but too small for two. A dining table, a desk, a few chairs, a bed, a kitchen… it was all there. Naruto had done a great job at creating it all, it was a true testament of how well he controlled his ability. Or was it a testament of his love for Ajisai? Konan couldn't say.

Part of her felt wrong about entering the home of the already-dead girl, as if she was disturbing something. It was a foolish notion, she knew, but still…

Konan sighed. She regretted that the girl had died. She had tried to keep her away from Nagato, fearing that he'd use the girl against Kunomori (who turned out to be none other than Uzumaki Naruto, the Kyuubi jinchuriki who was presumed dead).

Her hand gently swiped over the perfectly smooth wood, dragging the chair back so that she could sit behind Ajisai's desk. For some reason, a notebook drew her attention. Actually, it wasn't even that hard to explain why she was here. Konan had looked at Ajisai and had seen a younger version of herself, scarred by war yet still deeply in love. How long had it been since Yahiko died? How long since her heart had been shattered to pieces?

Vengeance had dragged her through those times. Yet it had been apathy that followed, a lethargic state of mind which she abhorred even more than that preceding anger. Most of the kunoichi in which she had taken an interest over the years had turned out to be naïve fools. Yet, she remembered the defiant look of a little girl whose home town had been raided. That girl had lost everything she held dear, yet still somehow those experiences had not robbed her of the ability to think straight. Konan had kept track of the girl's progress. She had grown silent, solemn, hiding behind a stoic façade which she only rarely dropped. Yet still that girl was able to keep an open mind, judging people as individuals, yet not by the nation they were from. Her hatred didn't control her mind.

Combined with the girl's unwavering faith and her growing prowess in fuinjutsu, Konan had thought of that girl first when she needed someone trustworthy to look after the mokuton user who had stayed in Amegakure at the time.

' _Could I have spared her if I had assigned someone else? Or would the two have fallen for each other regardless of my decision?'_ Konan wondered. Despite her experience, despite standing so close to someone who wielded the rinnegan, Konan still couldn't tell whether mankind was merely doing as fate dictated, or if they lived in a world of chance. In the end, she figured, it mattered little whether 'choice' was an illusion or not, as things would happen the way it would happen regardless of such ideas.

Opening the notebook, Konan lifted a brow in surprise. The girl had been talented at fuinjutsu, so of course she would have had a firm hand. The quality and detail of Ajisai's drawings, however, had not been something Konan had expected. The girl had seemed pragmatic, not the type who'd have an interest in the more artistic side of human nature. Obviously, Konan had been mistaken. The drawings of landscapes, both from Amegakure and surrounding nations, all places which the girl would've visited during missions, were impressive enough. It was, however, the portraits that captivated her.

"It is odd to see a drawing of yourself," Konan mumbled absentmindedly. Yes, there were drawings of Fuyo and Suiren, Ajisai's teammates, but most of the portraits had been of Konan, mostly with angelic wings. Oddly, there was also a drawing of a girl from Konoha, one who had her hair styled in two buns, in what seemed to be a desert-like environment.

Flipping through the pages felt as if she was scanning through Ajisai's life. How fitting it was that the last drawing, albeit an unfinished one, depicted Naruto. A serene smile, tender yet also with a hint of sadness, adorned his bewhiskered face. His radiant eyes stared at something beyond the drawing, almost dreamingly.

"Why did this have to happen?" Konan grimaced. "Why did she have to die? Of everyone in the new generation, she held the most promise. Perhaps she wasn't the strongest shinobi, but she had wisdom beyond her years."

Konan couldn't understand how Nagato could so easily discard the girl, how he had turned the girl's corpse into a puppet to be used against Naruto. This wasn't the Nagato she had known. Nagato had always been powerful, far stronger than any other, yet still had been kind and caring. The Nagato she'd known wouldn't do that to Ajisai, nor would he have turned on their sensei like that. What had gone wrong? Yes, they had agreed that the symbolism of godhood was useful, that people would be easier to mobilize if they had a strong belief in 'Pein'. That religious fervor would keep the nation together, keep the people strong against the countless threat that were looming across the borders. Yet, he seemed to have fallen for his own trick, now seriously considering himself a god amongst men. This wasn't a new fact for Konan, of course, but she had always believed that her friend was still aiming to do the right thing.

The situation with Ajisai had shaken that faith, had woken her from her lethargic slumber.

Besides, something about the entire situation didn't add up. Why did Ajisai have to die? If Zetsu had taken her captive, as Nagato had intended to do, it would have been easy to capture Naruto. The boy was highly dangerous, but his emotions for the girl were a glaring weakness that Zetsu had to have noticed. Yet, Zetsu deliberately killed her. Why?

Zetsu had tried to trick Akatsuki, coming up with the whole charade of 'Kunomori'. Obviously, Zetsu had known who the boy really was, even if Kunomori had seemed unaware of that fact. The memory loss which he had spoken of seemed to be real. Was killing Ajisai a failed ploy to take control over the boy? After all, Nagato had seen through the façade, had seen Naruto for who he was. What was it that Zetsu planned to do with Naruto?

'I _t can't be that he intentionally put Naruto up against Akatsuki, did he?'_ Konan groaned in annoyance. Why hadn't she considered this before? Of course that had been his intent! ' _Zetsu couldn't control Nagato, so he tries to have him killed? But without the rinnegan… wait, what did Nagato and Zetsu agree to do with Madara's body? Black Zetsu once said he was Madara's will, would he be scheming to have Madara revived? If Nagato would be pushed back too far, if the situation would grow desperate enough, he might just resort to that. I know Nagato doesn't trust the Uchiha, but if he is faced with a situation that leaves him no other option…'_

Being used to the likes of Hidan, Orochimaru, and Sasori, it didn't even seem that odd that such a legendary figure as Uchiha Madara would have been obsessed with immortality. In her experience, those with power always craved for more power. Resurrecting the body which Orochimaru had created with the otherworldly abilities of Nagato's rinnegan might just give Madara what he wanted. But that would be a wholly different plan than what Nagato intended to do to create world without war.

"I cannot allow Zetsu to continue this," Konan stood up, and after some hesitation she took the sketch book. After this situation was resolved, this apartment would be cleared for the next inhabitant. It would be a waste if this book was thrown away. This was the legacy of Ajisai, a relic that reminded Konan of how she had failed the girl.

* * *

Files were piled upon files. Her desk was a mess. But unlike normal, this time there was actually a lot of interesting information to be found. There were Suiren's accounts of Amegakure, for instance. Shikaku and Inoichi had compiled all the information they could get from someone with her clearance, effectively having the entire layout of Ame and its surroundings. Added to this was Naruto's information regarding the locations, as well as some very specific methods to enter those locations, where Akatsuki was known to have their hideouts. Naruto had seen a lot thanks to his travels at Kakuzu's side.

What interested Tsunade most of all, however, were the documents which Inoichi and Ino had given her: the rudimentary psychological profile of Uzumaki Naruto. While she was aware that Ino was a rather biased source, Inoichi mostly seemed to agree with her. Naruto was exceptionally strong, yet also very upset. And who wouldn't be? He lost his memories, got turned into a tool of slaughter, only to get his memories returned to him. On top of it all was the matter of how he had lost his fiancée. While it had been a rather short romance, Ino hinted that it was a strong one, to the point that Naruto still openly admitted he loved the girl. Although another part of him…

She sighed, knowing how much that had to have hurt the poor Yamanaka. But Tsunade knew better than most that the heart was rarely controlled by reason. The long aftermath of Dan's death was a not-so-pretty reminder of that fact. With another sigh (not in the least because of her annoyance that she couldn't drink in these times), she looked up at the portraits of her predecessors.

"It's your kid, Minato. What would you do? Or you, sensei? You cared about the brat as if he was your own grandson," she mumbled softly to the four faces. "You two would've cooked up some brilliant plan and got him back aboard. He's the strongest shinobi that Konoha has, yet the life he's been through has made him distrust everything. You, or Tobirama-jisan, would've known a way to reach him. Not to mention you, Hashirama-jiisan… you would've known how to heal his torn heart. I'm sorry I don't have a heart as big as you, or brains like those of the others."

Dejectedly, she closed the file and put it back in her drawer. The tinkling sounds of the closing drawer only served as a reminder of who she was. She wasn't wise, brilliant, ingenious, or amiable. Tsunade only saw herself as an old drunk, bitterly reminiscing about the past, longing for those she had lost. She only got the position due to a lack of alternatives, because Jiraiya had refused it, because Danzo would be far worse, because Minato, who should've still had the hat, had died before his time. She didn't see herself as a beacon of strength or hope. Sure, Tsunade knew she outclassed almost all of Konoha's shinobi, with possible exceptions such as Maito Gai, but that didn't mean she deemed herself fit as a Hokage.

' _I only accepted the damn job because I thought it would merely be for a few years. When the brat would be old enough, I'd step down and he'd take my spot. But now… he said he didn't want to become anyone's pawn ever again. He'd only fight alongside Konoha, not as one of its shinobi. What should I say to get him to trust me again?'_

Someone knocked at the door. Tsunade scowled. It wasn't Shizune, she could hear it by the sound of the knocking. Yet, she had expressively stated she did not want to be disturbed until it was time for lunch. "Come in," she snarled, when the person at the door knocked again.

"Yo, Baa-chan," the person who had been central to her thoughts stepped in. "Sorry for disturbing you like this. Shizune said I could, though," he scratched the back of his head, feeling a bit awkward.

Although, that scratching might also be due to him losing a lot of his hair. Apparently, Ino had not liked the shoulder-length spiky blond hair, and talked Naruto into a haircut. He had dropped his Akatsuki garb, now wearing the standard black outfit, complete with sand-colored hand-guards. He still wore the orange brown sash, complete with pockets in his front and back.

"Naruto?" Tsunade blinked sheepishly. "I see Ino didn't agree with your choice of clothing?"

"Nor my hair," Naruto scowled a little. "She's just as bossy as I remembered her to be. Anyway, that's not why I'm here."

"Then why are you?" she honestly did not understand.

"Do you think I'm still suitable to be a shinobi of Konoha?" Naruto twitched a bit, not wanting to show the amusement he felt- or rather, Kurama's amusement. The deep chuckle of the nine tailed fox was bellowing through Naruto's skull. In their defense, the stupefied look on the Senju's face was rather comical to behold. But he didn't want to give her the idea that he was making fun of her. Not yet, at least.

"B-but I thought," Tsunade started, before stopping herself. "Take a seat, brat." Rummaging through another drawer, she wondered _'How many drawers does my desk have? Not enough to hide all the paperwork.'_ She took out an item. She threw it at him.

"Baa-chan?" Naruto frowned. She hadn't given an answer to his question, instead throwing an hitai-ate at him.

"Of course I'm thinking you're fit to be a shinobi of Konohagakure," Tsunade smirked. "What kind of idiot would argue otherwise? I bet you'll become as strong as my grandfather was," she nodded at the portrait of Hashirama. "If not stronger, considering that you're the son of the Yondaime and the jinchuriki of the strongest of the bijuu."

"Yeah, but I'm not exactly pro-Konoha," Naruto frowned. "What I want isn't what many within Konoha will agree with, and I'm not going to allow myself to be stopped by petty politics. I've seen too much of what the hidden villages do. I want this war to be the last. All these pointless grudges, all coming from these endless conflicts, I'll end them all. And if people don't want to stop, I'll be the one to stop them."

"So you wouldn't be willing to listen to your Hokage?"

"If it is within reason, I'll listen. But I swore that I would never allow myself to be used as a tool again. I aim for peace, and I'll follow you if you have the same goal. If, however, you want to continue this stupid situation, I'm afraid I will not be able to listen," Naruto wasn't kidding around. His expression was grim and serious, his blue eyes calmly looking into hers. While he agreed with Kurama's reasoning that joining their ranks would avoid a lot of unnecessary distractions, he wasn't exactly planning to be pinned down by whatever position or regulation the village wished to shackle him with.

"But first we have this war."

"Yes. If we lose it, none of my wishes matter," Naruto shrugged. "The shinobi world would be destroyed, trampled under the might of the Juubi."

"What if we win?" Tsunade questioned. "You wanted to take on Akatsuki's leader, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"So if we win, you'd be hailed a hero."

"Hopefully not," Naruto scowled. "After all the things I did, after how I contributed to Akatsuki's goals, no one should call me a hero."

"You did what others manipulated you into doing," Tsunade disagreed. "But this war… it would be your way of fixing what you did wrong."

"The dead remain dead, though. There's no changing that."

"Naturally," Tsunade admitted. "But humanity at large is strange. Do you think people remember me for my mistakes? That they recount all the people that I failed to rescue? No, they think I'm some sort of hero, even when I know better. Along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru, I was praised to no end. The same will happen to you, kid."

"They'd create their own lies to believe in?"

"People would rather believe in lies, than accept the truth. But that isn't my point. My point was that you'd become a hero to the people. How would you like to take my hat?"

"You too, Baa-chan?" Naruto sighed. "Temari, Ino, and now you too? I know I always wanted to become Hokage, but after everything that happened I don't think I'd make a good leader."

"I won't buy that nonsense," Tsunade stopped him before he could protest. "Give it some time, brat. You've been through a lot, and now you've put way too much weight on your shoulders. Me and the other kages, we'll help you take down Akatsuki. And after that situation is over and done, I'll help you figure out your purpose in life. You've dragged me out of my drunken stupor, so I'm obliged to return the favor."

"I only did what I thought was-"

"Right," she finished for him. "That is exactly why I believe in you, Naruto. Whether you believe me or not, you _will_ become the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure. At that point, this handsome woman is going to retire, and help you out wherever she can to create your world of peace."

* * *

" **So you somehow ensnared Jiraiya of the Sannin in your trap?** "

"Obviously," Nagato said through his Tendo (Deva Path). The ripple-patterned eyes glared at the black-and-white creature that had grown out of the ground, not too far from the tower in which Nagato resided.

"Was that our mysterious number ten?" Zetsu's whiter half guessed the obvious.

" **Of course it was him, you moron** ," the blacker half growled. " **But can you truly keep him in check? He's a very powerful shinobi. A highly valuable asset to have at our side, but an even more annoying enemy.** "

"I think I can control him better than you, seeing how the Kyuubi jinchuriki slipped out of your hands," Tendo droned. "Your secrets have endangered the success of our cause, Zetsu. Normally, I would not tolerate such treason-"

"-but you need us! **That he does. Who else could've told him about the true extent of this shinobi alliance.** It's going to be fun to tear them apart. **We hardly need to do anything for that to happen.** "

"All our bases should be considered compromised. It will be impossible to determine which places the boy has and has not visited while traveling alongside Kakuzu."

" **Kisame is already on his way.** He'll be here soon! **We should start sealing the Gobi and the Rokubi.** "

"That would be best," Pein inclined his head ever so slightly. "Ideally, all the other bijuu are sealed before the Kyuubi host arrives. Amegakure is not able to deal with the combined forces of Iwa, Suna _and_ Konoha. Even if they will waste much of their resources to attack all our already empty hideouts throughout the nations. The seals and barriers left in place should hamper those forces considerably."

" **Naruto will pose a threat.** But we can turn the Tsuchikage and the Raikage. **Yes, we can, but the Mizukage is no pushover. The Hokage is weaker than she once was, while the Kazekage is still young. By contrast, the Tsuchikage is too old.** He has some pretty devastating attacks, though. **True, but the Raikage is arguably the strongest of the five. He is too fast for the other four.** And his temper is convenient. **For us, not for them,** " Black Zetsu and White Zetsu shared the same evil smirk. " **We will need access to the chakra of the Gedo Mazo for our plans to succeed.** Yes, with more chakra I can field more clones. **And more of his clones will translate in more chaos. Stupid as he may be** \- hey!- **his Narikawari no Jutsu (Body Substitution Jutsu) is perfect for these situations.** "

"Let the old grudges they bear against each other tear the hidden villages apart," Pein approved of the plan. With a smile, Zetsu sank into the ground.

' _ **At least, everything is going according to plan again. With access to the Gedo Mazo, the only thing that remains is to wait for Nagato and Naruto to engage each other. Just a little more, and mother will return to us!**_ '

* * *

Naruto sat atop the stone monument that overlooked Konoha. A place he often visited in the first thirteen years of his life. Today's visit had been long overdue, as was practically everything he did while being in Konoha. The longer he stayed, the more his old memories got settled in their rightful places. It was still a mess, considering the contrast between his old self and his new self, but he was adapting quick enough. His green flak jacket was proof of his adaptation, he guessed. Tsunade didn't just give him a hitai-ate, but also promoted him to jonin in one go. Although, that promotion had yet to be ratified, but that was something for after 'Ame'.

His ability to adapt to the contrasts between his old and new life was another thing Naruto had to thank Ajisai for. If not for her, Naruto would have remained an emotionally crippled tool. But due to her, the newer memories at least seemed more consistent with the old ones. The only thing that split him up was the matter of Yamanaka Ino. The emotions he held for Ajisai conflicted with his old crush on the pretty blonde.

' _I'll need time to figure that one out, won't I?'_

" _ **Why ask me? I'm hardly the person to go to with that stuff.**_ _"_

' _You're the one who's been around for multiple centuries, though.'_

" _ **Did I ever bother myself with you squishy bipedally-challenged creatures? Let's see… no.**_ _"_

' _You didn't have to be such an ass about it.'_

" _ **Why don't you ask your blonde friend?**_ _"_

' _In other matters, I would.'_

" _ **No, kid. You wouldn't. You've changed too much for that. She's innocent and naïve, she won't understand you- the current you. Didn't you see her look when you said you talked to me? That other girl seemed a lot more tolerable. It is unfortunate that she kicked the bucket. On the other hand, she would likely have been used as a means to extract me somewhere at this point.**_ _"_

' _If I could switch-'_

" _ **Moron! If that happened, she would've ended up dead too. Did you forget about the Juubi? You always lose your ability to think straight when that woman is involved. It is sad to admit, but I don't think that there would've been any option you could have chosen where she would have survived. With her living in Amegakure, your romance was doomed from the start.**_ _"_

' _I should've found a way to get her out of Ame.'_

" _ **How? The moment you would've turned against that sewn-together freak show, Zetsu would've reported to Pein. At that moment, her life would have been forfeit. You would not have gotten close to her without Akatsuki knowing. You would have walked straight into a trap. In hindsight, what they did was incredibly stupid. Unless Zetsu deliberately turned you against Akatsuki…**_ _"_

' _Why would he do that? It wouldn't make sense.'_

" _ **There is more to that vegetable than you'd expect. But you should pay attention to the outside world now. There are a couple of humans looking for you, and they're getting close.**_ _"_

Opening his eyes, Naruto scanned his surroundings. There were indeed people walking up the stairs. Considering that stairs only led to the top of the monument, Naruto assumed that they were likely looking for him. Oddly, the chakra signatures felt familiar. And one of them was Ino, he noticed.

"Told you to trust him," a boisterous voice sounded after a little while. "Akamaru's never wrong."

Naruto recognized Kiba's voice, but when he saw the large white dog at his side… wait, _white_? "Akamaru?" he muttered disbelievingly, still out of their hearing range. "Nah, that can't be. Can it?"

"You don't need to tell us that Akamaru smells," Ino's voice snapped back.

"Hey!" Kiba protested, although the remainder of what he said was inaudible to Naruto due to Akamaru's barking. It wasn't long before the group saw him, sitting atop the Yondaime's stone head. His father's head.

"Yo," he put up one hand; it was a bit lame for a greeting after not having seen them for three years, but what else was he supposed to say? He didn't know. Nor did he really care all that much, considering the other things he had on his mind.

Hinata, Kiba, and Akamaru greeted him with enthusiasm. Shino too, as far as Naruto could see, as the Aburame had somehow managed to hide his appearance even more since the last time Naruto had seen him. Choji was much more guarded, while Shikamaru was outright glaring at him. For this, Ino was staring at the Nara with barely-restrained anger.

A few hand seals later, and Naruto slapped his hands on the ground. Choji and Shikamaru tensed, but their fears turned out to be unnecessary. A large table and seven chairs, all grown out of wood, rose up from the ground.

"I guess I can offer you guys a seat wherever I am, so take one," Naruto shrugged.

"Holy crap! So you really _do_ have mokuton?" Kiba exclaimed. "Sure, I heard the rumors and all, but… well, it's kinda unreal."

"It isn't really something I got voluntarily," Naruto said calmly. "As Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino can attest, I have not exactly been myself for the past three years."

"Y-you look… strange," Hinata stammered. "It is as if your body is… parts of it are…"

"Parts of me are made up of a different substance," Naruto nodded. "It is how I got mokuton. It is how I lost my memories. And worst of all, it is how I got turned into a puppet of Akatsuki. But that's in the past. I'm sure you've heard enough about me. I'd rather… I'm bored by my own shit, so hearing something that isn't totally depressing would be a welcome change. How have you all been these last three years?"

Yes. Pein was a dangerous fanatic, but he was right about one thing: pain does change a person. However, these people were free of that pain. They weren't scarred like he was. Perhaps that was why he was so reluctant to talk about his own doubts and fears? Or was it because he had seen the confusion in Ino's eyes?

He made a mental note to ask Tsunade. She'd understand. She had lost, like he had. Unlike these mostly untarnished souls, she could help him figure out his purpose.

* * *

" **How many?** "

"With the chakra I took? Three hundred."

" **Good… sixty for each nation. That should be enough. Take the key positions that we've scouted out these last few years. Kill them, and take their places. Then, start spreading the rumors according to what we've discussed.** "

"You sure we should draw Kumo into this as well?"

" **The Raikage won't hesitate when he hears that his little brother was taken to Ame. Feeding his fears that Iwa intends to extract the Hachibi for their own purposes would only increase his haste. We need confusion. Just leave a few of your clones, disguised. Make it seem like Kisame was ambushed by Iwa troops. If the Raikage thinks he has found the corpse of his brother, that impulsive fool is bound to do something stupid.** "

"The Tsuchikage still seems confused, by the way."

" **Any luck figuring out what happened to him?** "

"Only one who knows is his granddaughter, and she refuses to talk about it," Zetsu sighed. "Still, something happened in Konoha. He's off. Also, it seems like Naruto-kun made quite the impression there. Iwa is in complete disarray. Apparently they know he's the son of the Yondaime Hokage."

" **Then they'll inevitably turn on Konoha. Any luck with Suna?** "

"No, not yet. Kiri was better, though. Apparently Mei-chan didn't finish the job thoroughly enough. She left some of the old loyalists alive. I'm currently causing division among their ranks by framing the old supporters of Yugura's reign for a few murders."

" **T** **hat is a surprisingly good idea.** "

"Well, it kinda happened when someone found one of the corpses of my victims," Zetsu laughed awkwardly. "I played along with the idea, and added to the mistrust by repeating it a few more times. Kiri isn't exactly unified."

" **Oh well, it is good enough for improvisation. I did not anticipate that Kiri would be so cooperative. Especially considering how Naruto was the one to take down Yagura. But this works too. As long as they remain divided, Kiri won't be willing to send out too much of its forces.** "

"The alliance plans to set out to Ame tomorrow. They've dispatched teams for the hideouts as well. I think they are planning to strike all spots at the same time. It will be in three or four days, tops."

" **That is good. Then they won't figure out that the hideouts only act as diversions. At least, it will be too late for those scattered forces to join the attack on Ame once they figure out they've been played.** "

"Even with Pein, Konan, Kisame, and Jiraiya… it still seems like we're outnumbered. The forces from Ame are too weak, even if they do have a home field advantage."

" **Why do you think I wanted you to create even more chaos than we had originally planned? If one of the kage turns on the others, we will have the upper hand.** "

"And once Nagato and Naruto have weakened each other…"

" **The board is set… the pieces are moving, all to one place. And none of them know it will be a game played by our rules.** "

"Not until it is already too late."

" **Then there won't be anyone left to stop mother…** "

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Zetsu… what kind of foul schemes do you have in mind now? Nagato and Naruto see each other as the main threat, yet neither seems to be fully aware that Zetsu is playing them. Although Konan seems to be on the right track, would she be able to prevent the whole situation from spiraling completely out of control?

As I was reviewing the stuff I've written so far, I came to a conclusion that one thing remained confusing. There is little to distinguish the paths from the characters. As a solution I use, from this chapter on, the 'Deva Path' as a name for the abilities, while using the Japanese 'Tendo' as the name of the character. To list it:

Deva Path (the set of abilities, also translated as 'god realm') & Tendo (the character, the animated corpse of Yahiko)  
Asura Path & Shurado  
Human Path & Ningendo  
Animal Path & Chikushodo  
Preta Path & Gakido  
Naraka Path & Jigokudo

Is this clear enough for you? Considering how I wish to avoid confusion I plan to mostly use the character's name with the translation in brackets behind them, just as I do for jutsu.

Thanks to **Illuminated** , who had to take a little break for real life! And now I'm off to celebrate my birthday, 'till next time!

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	16. Dawn

_Apologies for the long wait. Let's just say that vertigo is not a funny thing to have. Especially when it lasts for weeks. Stupid vestibular system… anyway, I'm back. Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Asunder**

 **Chapter Sixteen**

 **Dawn**

* * *

" _What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or in the holy name of liberty or democracy?"_

― Mahatma Gandhi

* * *

Tsunade looked around with a raised brow. Fires had been extinguished, but several of the poorly constructed buildings were still smoking and smoldering. While it wasn't the first abandoned village she had seen, considering how civilians tended to make distance between them and the invading army, Tsunade wasn't expecting to see a village so… pillaged.

It had been years since she last set foot in the nation, as Amegakure had been very isolationistic under Hanzo's rule. In fact, the Senju thought that the battle between her team and Hanzo, the day they received the honorary title 'sannin', had also been the last time she had been here. Back then, the entire nation seemed to be a battlefield. Shinobi from Ame, Suna, Iwa, and Konoha had all fought there, so it followed that the civilian population had been impoverished back then. However, Tsunade had expected that things would have changed for the better.

"This village is the meeting place, isn't it?"

"It is, Tsunade-sama," Shizune nodded. "Apparently the Kazekage and the Mizukage are already there. We are slightly behind schedule."

"What happened here? Were our forces attacked?"

"I do not know, Tsunade-sama," Shizune shrugged apologetically. But Tsunade could see that the young woman noticed the same thing she did: all of the shinobi that moved through the village acted skittishly. Several carried corpses, others were busy clearing rubble, but none of them stayed too long in the central square of the small village. It hadn't been much of a square, being just barely enough to offer room for a market where people could buy and sell their wares. Today, nothing was sold or bought, however.

Today, the little square had become a gruesome place; no wonder everyone was avoiding it. Tsunade was confused, and halted a passing genin, a man in his early thirties. The man almost buckled over when his Hokage addressed him. "You, what is going on here?"

"P-punishment, Hokage-sama."

"Punishment? What madness is this?" she shouted, pointing at the corpses. Four shinobi had been impaled, their corpses left to rot- Konoha shinobi, Tsunade noticed. "Who did this?!"

"He did," a highly annoyed voice sounded. Shikaku walked towards her, pointing at the one behind him. She excused the genin, who hurried away, not looking at the blond who followed after Shikaku.

"I did," Naruto nodded. "And I'd do it again."

"Why?" Tsunade clenched her teeth. "You'd better have a damn good reason to-"

"Rape. Theft. Barbarism. They were pillaging this village, Baa-chan, they were murderers and thieves. I told you why I accepted this hitai-ate, and I abide by those words. I fight for a peaceful world. Those men were enemies to that world. Attacking innocent civilians is in no way excusable, no matter how this bloody Nara tries to justify it."

"I told you that we need to cut off any supply line to Ame, in case this conflict is dragged out. Those men were simply too… they interpreted their orders the wrong way."

"They were savages," Naruto spat. "If Konoha's top strategist can't even condemn their actions, I wonder if I'm not fighting for the wrong side. Let's move. Temari and Mei are waiting."

Not waiting for an answer, even though Tsunade and Shikaku were technically his superiors, Naruto stalked off to one of the few buildings that hadn't been torn or burnt down.

"Shizune-san, you might want to go to the east side of the village. We set up a small field hospital…" Shikaku hesitated. "Some of the civilians were still alive when we came here. _They_ were a scouting party that I had sent ahead to ensure we wouldn't be ambushed here. The way they treated the families that hadn't fled at that point was… well, his actions were wrong, but Naruto was correct in that those men deserved punishment for their actions. Publicly executing them in this way, however, was a wrong decision. It might undermine morale."

"I'll talk to him later," Tsunade sighed wearily. "You and you," she pointed at two anbu who remained nearby. "Take away their hitai-ate and burn the bodies." The registration number engraved on the forehead protector would help ensure notification of their next of kin once this war was over. Whatever their crimes had been, their families deserved to know that they had fallen.

"I'll go to the field hospital," Shizune grimaced. She pitied the poor souls who had been caught in this mess. Sometimes, in her most intoxicated moments, Tsunade had spoken about the wars which she had experienced. Shizune had not expected it to be as horrid as Tsunade had described it. Jonin or not, waging an open war like this was a rare thing for a shinobi. But seeing this mess made her realize that this situation was going that direction. They were truly going to war, along with all the atrocities attached to the act. Worst of it all, it showed Shizune that what Tsunade had told her was actually true. If this happened before the war really started, what kind of thing would happen during it?

Knowing her better than any other, Tsunade saw how the kind-hearted woman felt. _'The younger shinobi only know the skirmishes that occurred during peace time. Aside from those who had participated in the last war when they were still children, the shinobi of this generation know only the bloody battles between rivaling squads. But, war is something completely different from that. This would be on a far grander scale, more brutal and traumatizing than anything they had experienced up till that point. Shikaku is right. War is upon us, and the last thing we need is for our own forces to be demoralized. Damn brat is as impetuous as ever, why didn't he think this through?'_

The long wait before the war always brought up tension. Worse, even, was that this time they were battling Akatsuki, an organization of infamous S-ranked shinobi. While Naruto stood at their side, displays like these made people doubt his allegiance, something that was already questioned to begin with. As she walked into the building where she and the other kage were to discuss strategy, Tsunade wondered how she could manage to give the army a sign that Naruto was loyal.

' _The problem is that the brat has become even more stubborn than he already was. And that ruthlessness of his doesn't make sense. He has his memories, so why is he still so callously killing people? The Naruto I knew would never do such things. Could it be… could it be that he is still affected by whatever that 'Zetsu' did in order to wipe his mind? I should have taken more time to examine his body,'_ Tsunade sighed. ' _But there wasn't any time. We had all the five villages aligned for the first time since grandfather ended the wars, if I had somehow stalled the process, we would have lost the momentum and lost the one chance of fighting Akatsuki as a unified front.'_

"Tsunade-sama?" Shikaku tapped her on her shoulder. "We are here."

Looking around, Tsunade saw Temari and Mei sitting at a table, next to them was a kunoichi from Iwa who looked familiar. ' _She was among the Tsuchikage's guard. His granddaughter. Wasn't her name Kurotsuchi?'_

"My honorable grandfather was indisposed, and sent me, Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure, as his representative," Kurotsuchi explained, noticing the look she got from Tsunade. "While he IS in fighting shape, the Tsuchikage is also… aged," she said a bit hesitantly, obviously struggling to find the right word to describe his condition. Criticizing her kage wasn't exactly polite, and showing weakness in front of the other villages was even worse.

"I heard stories about his back," Tsunade nodded, much to Kurotsuchi's displeasure. Then again, all the five hidden villages gathered intelligence on each other, and Onoki's age and the subsequent problems due to that age were a public secret in Iwa. "Do not worry," the Hokage assured her. "We are all aware that the Tsuchikage is still a fearsome enemy. His prowess in ninjutsu is, after all, one of a kind."

"Let's move on, shall we?" Naruto tapped with one finger on the table, obviously impatient.

"Things would go smoother if you could manage to restrain your temper," Shikaku glared at the blond. "Your display earlier-"

"Bah, haven't you whined enough about that already? I said it before and I say it again: I do not forgive anyone who acts like that," Naruto growled. "That is why this war needs to be over as soon as possible, with as few casualties as possible, because we are here to stop Akatsuki and not to cause even more grief to this already-scarred nation. The misguided people of Amegakure, brought together by suffering, do not deserve to pay for the sins of its leaders."

"While I agree that the people who you murdered deserved death, I do not agree with your methods. Murder is not justice. We have rules and regulations to deal with criminals," Shikaku did not relent. "Your actions struck fear in the hearts of our shinobi. Your imprudence created whispers that you cannot be trusted."

"I'm sure you are exaggerating about the latter, Shikaku-san," Temari sighed.

"You know better than most how _highly_ jinchuriki are regarded, Temari," Naruto chuckled, although the bitterness was clear to be heard. He had not forgotten how people had always been wary of him when he was a child, how they always expected him to fail and lose control. "You are intelligent, Nara, so you should be aware of what caused Akatsuki to rise. It was those precious rules and regulations of yours. It is the system, how our grudge-filled world works, that supported and continued the hatred that eventually gave birth to the shinobi that formed Akatsuki. Not to mention that it is that system which convinced the common people to support their cause. While you self-righteously talk about justice, Konoha has never known much restraint about waging war on foreign soil. They'd rather make this nation suffer than risk the involvement of their own population. Because of that, the people living between the borders just had to suffer the petty grudges of the hidden villages. And yet you talk about _justice_? I bet Iwa has a wholly different view on what is just about Konoha's actions, or what about Kumo? Or Suna? If the world was just, then Konoha and all the other villages should all suffer for their sins." Naruto raised a hand when Tsunade bristled. "Not that I seek such justice, Baa-chan. Do not worry. I'm not that narrow-minded. I seek peace. I'm tired of fighting, tired of the hatred. I seek an end to all these petty grudges, an end to all the conflicts which drive the shinobi system."

"So you still support Akatsuki," Shikaku concluded. "If you wish to end all strife, then you would ruin the shinobi system. If you want to enforce peace, you would need to be a dictator who rules over the entire continent. And without conflict, the Daimyo would not spend as much money on our village as he does now."

"My peace would endanger your way of life, to some extent," Naruto shrugged. "Regardless, even without wars there will still be renegades and bandits, and there would still be many missions that do not involve conflicts with other villages. The hidden villages would remain as they are necessary for the safety of the people. If you would want to cooperate with each other, peace would not be that difficult. After all, if the five greatest shinobi villages worked together, what military force would be capable of resisting it?"

"An alliance would be an interesting idea, if we could find a way to make it last," Mei spoke, for the first time since Tsunade had entered the room. Before Shikaku could utter another word, she cut him off. "Kirigakure is more familiar with war than most other villages, due to the recent and bloody civil war we had to endure. While peace would be detrimental to our finances on the short run, it is but a small sacrifice. As far as I see, the costs of war outweigh the benefits of profiting from fear."

"It would require us to set aside our grudges, however," Temari looked at Kurotsuchi. "Suna would be willing to try, if Iwa would stop harassing our borders."

"I thought we were here to discuss strategy," the Iwa kunoichi scowled. "Don't get me wrong, the idea of peace sounds nice and all, even though my honest opinion is that it is rather naïve; but I have no say in this matter. I am not Tsuchikage. My opinion, whether I'm in favor or not, simply doesn't matter. So I humbly apologize for the fact that I cannot speak on behalf of my village in this matter."

Tsunade could hear the unspoken 'yet' in that sentence. Still, the young woman had a point. This was a meeting for strategy, even if Naruto and Shikaku had derailed it.

"I do hope the murder and rape of civilians is not considered strategy," Naruto glared at Shikaku. One was talking out of emotion, the other out of logic. One was recklessly focusing on the short term, while the other had a habit of planning years ahead. It was no wonder they conflicted. Tsunade grimaced, promising herself to keep the two separated from now on. The Nara was usually too lazy to get really agitated like this, but at the same time, he was well aware of the responsibilities he had. Leading the jonin, Shikaku effectively led the backbone of Konoha's military force, even though the Anbu fell out of his jurisdiction.

"Enough. Both of you," Tsunade barked. "Naruto, you agreed to wear the leaf symbol, so act in accordance to your rank, _jonin_."

"As you wish, _Hokage_ ," Naruto said icily. The Senju was taken aback by his tone. "In that case, you should inform your strategist that this jonin will fight with the skills of a mere jonin if he doesn't take measures to prevent things like these from happening." His cold blue eyes stared back at Tsunade's angry brown orbs. Both knew that this alliance needed Naruto to fight at full power, if Pein was as strong as he was said to be, if after the power he had displayed earlier, even Naruto admitted that he did not believe himself to be able to defeat Pein in the event of Konan, Kisame, and Hidan interfering.

"This is a discussion we shouldn't have in front of other kage," Shikaku grimaced, rubbing his temple to soften the effects of an upcoming headache. Open insubordination like this, from a warrior as strong as Naruto, was a sensitive topic as it was. Doing it in front of these foreign leaders, however, made the situation exponentially more troublesome.

"I do not mind," Mei smiled a little too sweetly. "If Naruto-san had been blindly loyal to his village, I would have been more apprehensive about the future of my own village."

"Besides, this is the same unruly and unrefined Naruto that I already knew," Temari chuckled. "He never seemed to care that much about rules anyway. Though, I must agree that it worries me that he has grown more ruthless."

"Blame Zetsu and Kakuzu for the latter," Naruto mumbled. "So how are we going to attack? I still think that I should lead the vanguard."

"That would be unwise. You and the Gokage should stay out of the battle until the members of Akatsuki get involved. We do not know how strong they are, so wasting chakra on weaker opponents could turn out detrimental on the long run," Shikaku fell back into the familiar patterns, and professionally started laying out the strategy which he had worked out based on what the Gokage had agreed during the summit in Konoha.

Shikaku explained how their combined forces would surround Amegakure, at which points their jonin would break through the defensive lines which Ame had created, and more, much more. The most important part to Tsunade was that there would be sensors who'd notify her and the other kage when a member of Akatsuki was sighted, or Naruto in case someone with the rinnegan was seen. Aside from that, Tsunade had ensured that those closest to her, Shizune and Ino, would remain away from the front lines, as they would focus their efforts on healing the wounded.

As such, Tsunade only listened with one ear, her mind mostly preoccupied with other worries. Naruto's brash behavior was one of those worries. Her failure to get into contact with Jiraiya was another major one.

Before Shikaku could end his explanation, however, Ino interrupted the meeting. Panting and sweating slightly, signs she had hurried to get there, Tsunade instantly paid full attention again. "Kumo has come," the Yamanaka uttered. "The Raikage and a small force of Kumo jonin are approaching from the east."

That wasn't supposed to happen. The Raikage was supposed to be the one who coordinated much of the attacks on the hideouts of Akatsuki. Considering the distance, Kumo had not been expected to take a part in the battle against Amegakure, especially not when the Raikage was preoccupied with finding his little brother, the jinchuriki of the Hachibi.

"Why is the Raikage here?" Tsunade frowned.

"He agreed that he would lead the attacks on Akatsuki's hideouts," Mei wasn't sure what caused this change of plans. Kiri and Kumo did not border Ame, which had been reason for Mei to bring a smaller force along. Although in truth she did not dare to weaken Kirigakure too much, as there always remained a threat of the civil war resurfacing. Due to the threatening dissent, Mei had been forced to leave some of her most trusted (and strongest) shinobi behind, rather than joining the war in full force. The Raikage had agreed with that line of reasoning, albeit with different priorities in mind. If Kumo were to come with a display of force, and join the war anyway, Kiri would be the village seen as the weakest once the war was over- at least, in the eyes of the civilian population.

"I do not know," Ino apologized. "The Raikage and his forces are roughly two hours away from Iwa's encampment."

"Then I will return to the Tsuchikage and inform him," Kurotsuchi stood up. "As far as I am concerned, the attack can commence as planned. Either my grandfather or I will inform the Raikage once he arrives, and we will use his forces to bolster our ranks."

"That seems like the best solution," Shikaku nodded. "If there had been urgent reasons for Kumo to come, we would have received a message already, so we can safely assume that they are only here to join the battle, which is good. The Raikage is strong, and will be useful once Akatsuki shows itself."

* * *

"The Raikage is strong, **his presence will be useful**."

"It still sounds like a risk to drag him into the battle," Konan was visibly annoyed by the upbeat way in which Zetsu had announced that the last of the five kage was also approaching the battlefield.

"It isn't. **He thinks that Iwa is targeting his little brother.** And we've given him some… proof. **He won't be too pleased with Iwa.** At all."

"Very well," Tendo droned. "Commence. Naruto will notice you on his side of the battlefield, so we will deal with Konoha's forces. I leave it up to you to create chaos among Iwa's troops."

"And when the Raikage arrives, **the chaos will be complete**."

"Konan, you can take Jiraiya and Kisame with you. I will deal with Naruto personally."

" **Not having any distractions during your battle would be for the best.** Naruto's power has grown in strange leaps up till now. **Who knows what he is capable of now.** "

"This situation would have been so much easier if you had not tried to deceive us, Zetsu," Konan's voice was cold enough to make even the less-intelligent half of Zetsu shiver.

"It matters little at this moment," Pein's rippled eyes nonetheless narrowed when looking at the dual-colored humanoid. "Even in the unlikely case Naruto that proves to be too powerful for the combined might of the rinnegan, we still have a backup plan."

Zetsu failed to notice Konan's pensive look. Perhaps if he had, Black Zetsu would have made some minor alterations to his plans…

"Now, about respawning this 'Tobi'," Pein continued.

" **Tobi is ready** ," Black Zetsu said smoothly. " **I'm sure it would be much easier to fight Naruto if you regained your ability to walk. The vulnerability of your real body has always been your greatest weakness, Nagato.** "

* * *

In an attempt to suppress his agitation, Naruto tried to meditate. Every time he closed his eyes, however, he saw the helpless civilian girl forced down on the ground, assaulted by… ' _Stop it,'_ he slapped himself on the head, feeling his anger boiling up once again.

" _ **You might as well stop trying to calm yourself, brat. It is pointless. You are too angry right now.**_ _"_

' _You're right. Perhaps I shouldn't have lashed out like that, during the meeting.'_

" _ **You think?**_ _"_ was Kurama's sarcastic response. _"_ _ **If they weren't scared shitless of you before, you managed to achieve just that, by slaughtering those pieces of trash.**_

' _I… When I saw what was going on, I remembered the story that Aji-chan told me… how her sister was killed.'_

" _ **Which, in turn, reminded you of the girl herself,**_ _"_ Kurama said calmly. " _ **And the possibility that she could have met such a humiliating fate.**_ _"_

' _Yes,'_ Naruto admitted, after some time.

" _ **I would suggest you find something else to focus on. You know well enough that humans are vile, but it is not something that you should allow yourself to be distracted by. Don't let rage distract you, when we still have that rinnegan-bearer to face. Perhaps the blonde girl might calm you down?**_ _"_

' _Ino?'_ Naruto frowned. ' _I'm not sure. Things have changed, Kurama. I have changed. Perhaps too much… I don't know if she'd still understand me. Not like she used to. She smiles, but it isn't the same smile I remember; she's been through a lot as well, but… the things I've done…'_

" _ **She might surprise you.**_ _"_

' _I guess it is worth a try.'_

" _ **One way or the other, you will have to rein in your temper. Your reckless behavior is going to get you killed.**_ _"_

' _I know. Drawing in natural energy goes a lot smoother when I'm calm.'_

" _ **Exactly. And you cannot afford yourself to be weakened, not now.**_ _"_

Naruto thanked the bijuu, who refused to be thanked. If Naruto wanted to thank him, Kurama had said, he would have to set him free. After dealing with this situation around the Juubi, of course. Hidden within this seal, Kurama at least had _some_ protection from the Gedo Mazo statue.

Walking through the remnant of the village, Naruto barely paid attention to the shinobi who all gave him wide berth. He didn't care about them, really. Right now, Naruto had a different goal in mind. Ino would be at the field hospital, aiding Shizune. It was a guess, but she wasn't with Tsunade, who was either resting or reading – she wasn't using her chakra at least. Shizune would be the second most likely person to look for. Also, Naruto realized that he wanted to check the civilians he had rescued.

Not that he was expecting a 'thank you' or anything, but he knew it would be a relief if he could see them alive. He knew they would need time to recover, especially the women, but at least they'd be alive. A part of him hoped that he had been quick enough to have spared them from being seriously traumatized, but the other part realized that this was most likely a fool's hope. These men had been a scouting party, traveling several hours ahead. Time enough to…

"U-Uzumaki-sama, can I help you?" a young genin approached him. Well, 'young'… she was about the same age he was, he guessed, perhaps even a little older. Everything he had been through, though, gave him the feeling that he was much older than his years indicated.

"There was a group of civilians from this village. Where are they?" they were probably the only patients in the camp right now, but they were setting up for a much greater capacity. At most, this camp would be an hour away from Amegakure, close to the front lines. Naruto knew that most chunin and jonin had already been assembled and were heading there. In a little while, he too had to go, before Shikaku's plan would commence and the chunin and jonin would assault Ame's defenses.

At that point, the first casualties would be brought in. Medics would be in the field, stabilizing the wounded, patching them up to a condition that they could be brought to this camp. That was why there were genin here. 'Logistics' was what the task was called. The truth was more gruesome, as it usually was.

"I-I can take you to them, Uzumaki-sama."

"There's no need to use such formalities. For the time being, I'm just a Konoha shinobi, like you," Naruto sighed. "And there's no need to be so scared of me either. I'm not going to just randomly slaughter people."

The girl swallowed before she nodded, still nervous in spite of his words, leading him to the tent where he saw a group of people, most of them asleep.

"Thank you," Naruto muttered. He looked around and noticed a black-haired young woman. "How are they, Shizune?"

"Physically fine," she hesitated. "But I think I will ask Ino-chan or someone of her clan to help them cope with what happened."

"Would she be able to remove their memories?"

"Perhaps," Shizune sighed. "But that is… well, you of all people should know that such an act is rather immoral."

"Ignorance can be a blessing," Naruto remarked.

"Do you regret remembering who you were?"

"It is pointless to regret what happened to me. If I'd regret anything, it would be what happened to someone else," he thought about Ajisai. "Besides, there are good things to remember, even if they hurt. But for them… what happened to them is only pain. Suffering without purpose or reason. I'd say they'd be better off not remembering."

"Perhaps," Shizune frowned. "I'll ask Tsunade-sama. She would have to give permission for such an invasive treatment anyway."

"And she'd make a much better sounding board than me," Naruto smirked listlessly.

"Do you wish to meet them?"

"I'm not sure if that is wise."

"You were the one who saved them," Shizune smiled. "At least one of them was eager to meet her savior."

* * *

"I imagine it must be strange, being part of the forces that invade your home country."

"I suppose," the partially masked green-haired girl shrugged indifferently. "I can't really call it home, though. Not anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because I'd end up being tortured and killed if I went back," Suiren frowned, as if the answer to Ino's question was completely obvious. "I can't call a place where I can't live my home, can I?"

"I suppose…"

"To think I once called him 'Kami-sama'," Suiren smirked wryly, although her expression was hidden from sight as the bottom half of her face was covered. "Ajisai, especially, worshipped them. And now she's gone, Fuyo is gone, and here am I, the only one of our team left, joining the effort to take Pein down. I wonder if the fate that Hyuga spoke of truly exists."

"Hmpf, don't buy that 'fate' crap," Ino huffed. "We make our own paths. In hindsight, it is easy to call it 'fate', while those who have their eyes set on the future talk about 'chance'. I doubt that either of the two truly matter. Whether our choices are predetermined or actually our own, we make them nonetheless. Blaming fate for what happens to us is just as futile as hiding behind the random nature of the world."

"Wow, it seems you gave that some thought," Suiren raised an eyebrow.

"Naruto-kun and Neji had a rather fierce… debate over the matter," Ino struggled to find the right word to describe the confrontation between the two. While Naruto and Neji had clashed in terms of power, their duel had just as much been about their philosophies of life.

"Oh, Hyuga Neji?" the former kunoichi of Amegakure looked at the blonde. "I met him and his team during the chunin exams. A handsome guy, even if he acted rather coldly."

"He attacked you?" Ino assumed. "Lee, his teammate, is anything but cold hearted, quite a contrast with Neji."

"Considering the setting, we did engage in combat at first, yes, but there was an incident that forced our teams to work together. It is still an odd thing to think about… all three of us hated Konoha, yet we still ended up seeing them differently. Ajisai even considered the bun-haired one as some sort of comrade."

"Bun-haired? You mean Tenten?"

"I do," Suiren nodded.

"Ehm, if you don't mind me asking… why is it that the people of Ame hate us so much?"

"I thought it was clear by now. Your village, just like the other major hidden villages, used our lands as a battleground. Amegakure suffered many wars before Hanzo established a truce. And even then there were plenty of incidents. Plenty of people got hurt and gained reasons to hate your villages."

"I… I never knew."

"You've seen why I wear these clothes, right?" Suiren remained completely calm, but Ino could see that the girl forced herself to be that way. Whatever had caused those burns had not left a pleasant memory. "Fuyo had her reasons as well. And Ajisai… well, let's say that her reasons were strong enough for one to never expect her to see that Tenten girl as a comrade."

"What happened to her?"

"Not to her, but her sister."

"Ah… I see."

"I doubt you do," Suiren shrugged. "And for your sake, I hope you'll never will." The blonde girl was too ignorant of the hidden atrocities of their world, being raised in a protected environment. The way Ajisai's sister had died, and the resulting nightmares Ajisai had suffered due to it, were something that Suiren strongly doubted the Yamanaka could truly understand. In fact, it would be better if she didn't. "But it is irrelevant now, she is dead. And even in life, Ajisai was able to look past it. She lost everything and everyone, and yet had the strength in her heart to look past her painful past. Perhaps that is why she was able to see through the facade of 'Kunomori', unlike the rest of us."

"Is that why they… you know, why he cares so much about her? Because they understood each other?"

"You should ask him, not me," Suiren frowned. "I don't think it is right to make assumptions about his emotions. There are some similarities between them, and Ajisai told us how they eventually fell for each other, but I cannot say how he thinks about it- I only know what Ajisai told me. And if I'm to be perfectly honest, he still terrifies me."

"He is rather intimidating," Ino admitted. "Still, I know that deep down…"

"If you hope him to be the same person he once was, you'll be mistaken." The green-haired girl made the Yamanaka cringe at that blunt statement. "He might have changed due to regaining his memories, but from what I've seen, he is only more hurt by it. His feelings for Ajisai only seem to have grown in intensity. But you can see for yourself. Weren't you assigned to stay with him when the assault begins?"

* * *

The dreary weather was something he hadn't missed. Still, he was sitting down, having grown a log to sit upon. The mud wasn't really enticing to sit in, after all. He was already soaked enough as it was. Meanwhile, sitting down made it easier to meditate. Seeing the survivors had calmed him to some extent. Most of the men, women, and children who hadn't died at the hands of the Konoha advance party were completely terrified of Naruto. Only one woman, a brunette whose face had mostly been covered in bandages, had expressed her gratitude. After she did, the others had started to realize that Naruto had been the one who had stopped their torment, and had executed the scum who had inflicted all that pain on them.

Still, to them he was just another shinobi, just another Konoha nin. He saw it in their eyes, even if they had been too afraid of him to say those things. It didn't take a mind reader for him to notice that. He couldn't blame them for mistrusting him, not after what they had endured.

Naruto closed his eyes and slowed his breathing: slowly breathing in, then a small pause. Then he slowly breathed out, although breathing out lasted a little longer than in. Then another pause, before repeating. ' _Banish all thoughts. Only breathing. In and out. Shut off all senses, except the doorway to nature itself. In. Out.'_

Yes, the vast ocean of energy was eagerly awaiting him. Even in these lands, scarred by conflicts beyond count, the energy of nature was bountiful. The roots did not go deep in this muddy soil. Vegetation wasn't as dense as in Hi no Kuni. There was still more than Naruto could ever take in. In this vast world, he was merely a speck of dust. A temporal body, an amalgamation of tissue which absorbed and dispersed energy, his existence was of little consequence to the world at large.

And yet at the same time, he knew that his existence was so crucial to mankind. Who else would be able to stop Pein? Naruto had gauged their strengths, and knew the answer. Maito Gai was the strongest among the jonin he had seen, followed by Kurotsuchi of Iwagakure. Those two would probably be capable of putting up a fight against the likes of Kisame. But Pein was in a different league. The Tsuchikage was old, his brittle body no longer capable of standing up to a foe of that caliber, even if his skill at ninjutsu was arguably the strongest among the Gokage. The Raikage was probably the strongest of the five, possessing a lethal balance of speed and strength. His lightning shroud only increased his power more, exponentially so. While Tsunade likely could deal out heavier blows, Naruto figured that she would not be able to keep up with the speed of the Raikage. By contrast, the Mizukage possessed a lethal combination of kekkei genkai, making her one of the strongest ninjutsu specialists aside from Naruto himself. Regardless, Naruto felt like she lacked the stamina and chakra reserves to keep up. The problem was shared by the Kazekage. Temari was deadly at range, easily the best fuiton ninjutsu specialist in the army, but if Naruto had gotten a good read of her chakra, she was the weakest of the five kage.

None of the five, or any of the jonin that Naruto had seen, would be able to stand up to the power he had felt from Pein, not to mention the vague rumors about the 'six gods', or the 'six bodies of Kami', which had been whispered about in Amegakure. Ajisai had never been able to say too much about the man, and none of the shinobi that Naruto had seen had seemed to have ever truly seen Pein, but the rumors were still there.

Pein was hiding something. It was inevitable. After all, in power alone Kisame would likely be able to put up a match against Pein, and yet he had admitted being weaker. Why? Aside from Konan, Pein seemed to distrust all others. He was the sort of person who'd hide an ace or two up his sleeve. It was not that Naruto didn't have backup plans. He had his own chakra, he could expand it with the energy he drew from nature, and on top of that he could cooperate with Kurama, his ally due to mutual necessity.

Although, he preferred to keep the reserves of the latter untouched until the Gedo Mazo would surface. ' _If Pein even gives me a chance to hold back,'_ Naruto smiled wryly. ' _I should focus on gathering more energy. I can't feel anything big happening right now, but who knows how quickly the situation will change.'_

With his senses extending through the roots and plants, even the flora within the shallow water of the running river nearby, Naruto watched over the battlefield. Amegakure was surrounded. The entrenched Ame nin were outnumbered and outclassed, but due to their preparations the battle was mostly a stalemate up until now. The allied forces had started the attack an hour ago, mostly just testing Ame's defenses so far. Minimizing the number of casualties had been a standing order given to the normal shinobi.

Akatsuki was the main objective, after all: Kisame, Konan, Pein, and Zetsu. Naruto searched for them. There were many clones of Zetsu which he detected, albeit all too far away for him to terminate them. They weren't strong enough to really cause any trouble. ' _I wonder what they're up to. Even if they are many, none of them are strong enough to pose a challenge to a jonin, or even a decent chunin,_ ' Naruto frowned.

" _ **Focus, brat. Let the cannon fodder deal with the other fodder. We have stronger foes to deal with.**_ _"_

' _But as long as they remain cooped up like that, this senseless war continues.'_

" _ **Then draw their attention, and make them come to us…**_ _"_

It got Naruto thinking. Bringing up troops and surrounding Amegakure was a valid plan when one's aim was to defeat that village. But they were out against an organization made up out of S-ranked missing nin, of criminals and lunatics like Orochimaru, Hidan, and Sasori. Loss of life would not pose a great problem to such people. As long as they achieved their goal, they would consider it as their victory, regardless of the sacrifice necessary to acquire it.

' _Time…'_ Naruto grimaced. ' _The longer we drag this out, the more time they have. The more time they get, the bigger the chance will be that they have sealed away the remaining bijuu. And if the Gobi, the Rokubi, and the Hachibi are all sealed, then I am the only target left.'_

He could no longer wait this out, time was against him. Playing the passive game would only work to his own disadvantage, so Naruto knew he had to act. But how? Creating the Kan'on statue and just marching into Amegakure sounded like a good idea, but Naruto shot it down. He couldn't tell what sorts of traps they had made in anticipation of his arrival. If they were waiting, they undoubtedly thought that it would be to their advantage to fight in the confines of the village. That meant that it would be better for him to take the fight outside of the village, where the battleground was more in his favor. But how?

What other options were there?

" _ **How about changing the environment in your favor? If you grab the initiative, create the advantage for yourself, they would be forced to act or risk your changing the battlefield too much to your advantage.**_ _"_

' _The more trees there'd be, the more trouble they'd have fighting me! You're a genius!'_

" _ **I know**_ _,"_ Kurama replied calmly. The fox was a smartass, if nothing else. But Naruto knew Kurama was right. Kurama had already proven to be a better tactician than him, a point which had just been driven across again. Turning the environment in his favor was pretty much Naruto's forte right now. Gathering chakra, Naruto flipped through the three required hand seals and grunted "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kotan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)" and let his chakra do the rest.

Ino, standing not too far from him, yelped in surprise. "Naruto! What the hell?!"

"I fight much better in a forest than in the mud," Naruto chuckled, amused by the outraged Yamanaka. The Yamanaka cringed when her clan members contacted her en masse, demanding to know what just happened. "Just tell them that I'm turning the environment in my favor. This way, the situation will only get worse for Akatsuki if they keep hiding in Amegakure."

"O-okay," Ino mumbled, distracted by the voices in- and outside her head. As a Yamanaka, it was her task to maintain communications. As the one closest to Naruto, Ino had been assigned to stick close to him.

Putting out more chakra, expanding the growing forest around him further and further, Naruto decided to build up his defenses a little more. Five hand seals later, Naruto summoned two Mokuryu (Wood Dragons) that crouched down between the trees, curled up and hidden like snakes which were waiting for passing-by victims.

Calming his breathing, Naruto yet again dove into the vast supply of energy that nature offered. He had expended most of the chakra that had previously gathered, but replenishing it was fairly easy this way- as long as he didn't exhaust his stamina.

It wasn't long before Ino hopped down on the branch beside him. "What are you doing? That red dot and those lines you previously had, they disappeared when you did those jutsu."

"It is senjutsu. Sage mode," Naruto explained. "I gather energy from nature, and convert it into my own chakra. It boosts my reserves significantly, in spite of the danger it can pose."

"Danger?"

"Taking in too much energy would overthrow my sanity," Naruto shrugged. "I'd lose my mind and go on a rampage. But with control, it is a rather useful power. I mean, it takes quite a lot of chakra to grow a forest in a muddy environment like this. The soil isn't really that fit for flora, too much clay and too much water."

Soon, Ino could feel the power radiating off Naruto. A greenish aura of pure chakra was visible, and then the changes became visible. A single dot with a circle around it formed on his forehead. Similar red pigmentation formed around his eyes, with lines underneath them that extended to his ears. Combined with his thickening whiskers, she found Naruto looking rather daunting.

"It is time for you to leave, Ino. Get yourself to safety, and don't worry about me," Naruto warned. "He used the nearby river to sneak past the front lines," he sighed, before raising his voice. "Did you not, Kisame?"

"You've become annoyingly perceptive," a rough voice startled Ino. She, after one more look on Naruto, did as he had asked her to do- create distance. She had to warn her peers. Tsunade, Temari, Mei, those three were closest to his position; they had to know right now that Akatsuki had started to move.

"Where's the bravado, Kisame?" Naruto chuckled. "And where's your buddy? I admit that it is much harder to notice you when you don't have that fool at your side."

"Hidan is gone," Kisame grunted. Without any further ado, the shark-like man jumped forward. As Samehada unwrapped, the 'tailless tailed beast' of Kirigakure started his assault. True to his training as an assassin, the speed he now showed was beyond anything Naruto had expected. It almost cost him, almost. It had been wise to leave those wood dragons near. If not for the intervention of one, Naruto would have lost a limb, or at the very least a large chunk of chakra, knowing the annoying abilities of Samehada. Scowling, Kisame looked at the dragon which had leapt between him and his target.

"You've been holding back on me so far," Naruto frowned. "You really have honed your abilities to the point where it became practically unfair to fight you…"

"Look who is talking. You just created a forest and two of those bloody dragons, and your chakra hasn't even dropped a bit," Kisame growled. "I am the one who should be complaining about you holding back on me."

"I wasn't," Naruto disagreed. The power he now wielded was something he had gained after he last saw Kisame and Hidan, not that Kisame was giving him the time to explain that. Seeing the man literally cut himself through the dragon was not a sight that Naruto expected to see. He had put quite a bit of chakra into creating the automaton, after all.

' _It seems like holding back against him would only cause me to lose more chakra than it is worth, let's go Kurama!'_

His chakra surged even further, much to the elation of Samehada. To Kisame, things got less pleasant, however, as Naruto used Mokuton: Tsutaurushi (Wood Release: Poison Ivy) against him. Before Kisame realized the danger of the seemingly insignificant plants, his legs had turned into an itching and blistered mess.

It was a good enough distraction. Knowing full well that the usage of the smaller Myouou was not practical, considering how those automatons pretty much attacked everything and everyone that wasn't Naruto, the mokuton user skipped right to the strongest jutsu he had access to: "Senpo Mokuton: Shin Juichimen Kan'on (Sage Art Wood Release: the True Eleven-Headed Kan'on)," Naruto grunted, feeling the amounts of chakra which Kurama had lend him for this jutsu being drained as the statue grew to its massive size.

Kisame's pointed teeth were visible in the wide grin he gave upon seeing his opponent's choice of jutsu. This was what Zetsu had shown them, the jutsu that had destroyed Orochimaru and Kakuzu. In addition, he could sense that the boy had barely weakened, making it clear to him that Naruto had relied on the Kyuubi's chakra for this. While not a perfect jinchuriki yet, it made it clear to Kisame why Pein had considered the boy as such a huge threat.

He was a great enough threat that Pein had deemed Kisame incapable of dealing with it on his own.

"It still pisses me off that I can't have a proper one-on-one battle with the brat," Kisame spat. "It would have been glorious."

Pieces of paper fluttered down as Konan descended into the battlefield. Not too far away, Kisame felt Jiraiya stepping out of the toad that had concealed his presence up till now, and through the chakra rod in his chest the old toad sage summoned all the paths of pain to this location. Kisame's mind was still reeling from the revelation that there were seven entities which called themselves Pein.

All the pieces were in place. The boy was surrounded. While Pein kept himself and Chikushodo (Animal Path) back until the time was right, using a summoned creature to hide himself, Kisame knew that they had outwitted and outmatched their opponent. While his chakra reserves and his prowess in mokuton made him a monstrous opponent, the strongest that Akatsuki had faced up till now, Naruto would not stand a chance against their combined might.

Looking down from the enormous sitting Buddha statue, Naruto saw his opponents surround him. He scowled, knowing that this situation was exactly why he had agreed to bring the other villages along rather than dealing with Akatsuki by himself.

"Ero-sennin?!"

Much to his relief, Naruto saw his old teacher appear. The man had taught him a lot about what it meant to be a shinobi, even if Naruto had only spent the waiting time between the second and third round of the Chunin Exams with him. Jiraiya had given him the ability to summon toads, an art which was sadly lost to Naruto. He had tried to summon Gamakichi after he had regained his memories, but for some reason he had failed. Considering how he now partly consisted of Tobi's tissue, Naruto figured that his blood had changed as well. The summon contract was signed in blood, and the summoning jutsu used blood in order to create the necessary seal that transported the summoned creature.

Naruto's relief turned to horror when his old teacher slammed a rasengan through the wood dragon which had curled up, down around the feet of the Juichimen Kan'on.

"As you can see, you stand no chance, Uzumaki Naruto," Pein droned. Tendo stepped forward. Naruto was confused, however, when he saw four more shinobi, all with the same orange hair, far too similar chakra, and even the same purple ripple-pattern eyes. "Lay down your life, jinchuriki, and pave the path to a world of peace and prosperity, a world without war or needless slaughter. You can be the key, the one who ends the shinobi system."

The other four paths stepped forward, now standing next to Tendo. "Allow us to teach the world pain," the five spoke at the exact same time. The intonation, timing, and all, it unnerved Naruto. Were the other four all puppets of the real Pein? And he felt two more, hiding out in the woods, all sending that same chakra signal. What was Pein? Which one was Pein? Were they all Pein? Naruto couldn't tell. "Allow us to teach the world pain, so that it may understand your desire for a world of peace," they continued. "In knowing pain, they will grow."

Standing atop the Juichimen Kan'on, Naruto could hear the cries of suffering of all the shinobi through the ears of the eleven heads of the statue, in a way Pein could never realize it. The pain and horror of those who were currently fighting a war which shouldn't even have to be fought in the first place, he could feel it clear as day, as if Kurama's sensitivity to negative emotions somehow affected the statue. Both sides of this pointless war suffered the same pain. Whether a shinobi was from Ame, Iwa, Kiri, Konoha, or Sunagakure, none of that mattered. They all suffered the same pain when wounded. They felt the same fear when dying, the same anger and hatred when seeing their friends and family suffer and perish.

None of it should have happened. If only Akatsuki had seen reason. Ame's 'god' had become as misguided as those that followed him. Pein's ideals were wrong. His peace a lie. His efforts would bring the Juubi into the world. The Juubi was a force beyond the control of anyone, a force that would attack and destroy indiscriminately, yet this fanatic believed that he could use it to bring about peace.

"You want the world to know pain," Naruto spoke up. "But you do not even understand the good that is in it. I will never allow you to create the Juubi, Pein, because you will never be able to control its power. I will do whatever it takes to prevent you from destroying the entire world. You _will_ fall!"

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

It would seem like Akatsuki has outsmarted the alliance… or was Akatsuki outsmarted?

Oh, and Nagato is getting his legs back? Wasn't Zetsu a little too happy to supply a 'Tobi' (swirly Zetsu) for that? I'll have to credit **toshiro26** for the idea of letting Nagato regain his ability to walk. His suggestion fitted perfectly with the plot I have in mind.

Thanks to **Illuminated** for his efforts in editing this chapter! He suffered a bit of a delay this week too.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	17. The last straw

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Seventeen**

 **The last straw**

* * *

" _The final hour when we cease to exist does not itself bring death; it merely of itself completes the death-process. We reach death at that moment, but we have been a long time on the way."_

― Seneca

* * *

This was his forest. He could hide or sense anyone within it. After spotting Kisame, he knew they had been coming. However, it had been surprising when he saw that Jiraiya sided with Akatsuki. Sure, Naruto had felt the man's chakra in their vicinity, but… he had never believed that the old pervert would side with Akatsuki- not willingly. Naruto still couldn't believe it, even when he saw it to be true. It would be better said that he didn't _want_ to believe it. That goofy old pervert just couldn't be part of a criminal organization, and yet here they stood.

He wasn't going to like this- at all. Naruto saw Pein look behind him- at least one of the five bodies which answered to the name. Apparently Naruto's technique didn't fool the rinnegan. It was already too late, though. They were here.

"Jiraiya?" A disbelieving Tsunade looked at her old friend. She felt something within her snap as she gazed at the cloak that the old man now wore. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"You told me that I had failed everything that I lived for," Jiraiya said with a painfully calm voice. "If I am a failure, like you said, then all that I have left to do with the time that I am given is to make sure that people like us will never be broken like we were. That children, like Naruto, won't be sacrificed for the sake of a village that doesn't appreciate them, and forgotten once killed. It is too late for us, Tsunade, but I _will_ help Akatsuki in creating a world without strife."

"Jiraiya… I'm sorry," Tsunade cringed. "I was desperate, I didn't know what I was saying, I didn't mean it! I… I just…"

"You said what you said," Jiraiya's dismissive frown confused Naruto. What on earth had happened between the two remaining sannin? As far as Naruto knew, Jiraiya had always been crazy about her (and with the size of her chest, what pervert wouldn't have been?).

"Why are you helping them?"

"They are my students. The last people remaining to whom I have any attachments. And they are right: our system only creates more casualties and more suffering. It has to end. The cycle of hatred will never cease unless we act."

"What about Naruto?!" Tsunade snapped.

"Naruto died three years ago. That boy is a fake, a product of a broken-hearted girl who twisted the memories of a boy who seemed so familiar to the one she loved."

"That isn't true, Jiraiya-sama, surely you don't believe such nonsense!" Gai was the only shinobi from Konoha who had been allowed to stay at Tsunade's side. All others were deemed to be too weak to engage the members of Akatsuki, and thus were assigned to take part in the war against Amegakure. "Akatsuki is the organization that attacked Naruto and his team. He is the one who killed Kakashi," he pointed at a confused Kisame. "And we are here to make them pay for their crimes."

"You're all lost because you follow blind leaders. These false ideals, systems of the weak, they've ruined my world. No more," Pein spoke up. "Jiraiya-sensei was once misguided, like you. He has learned pain, and it opened his eyes. Where he went, you shall follow."

"Like hell we will," Temari launched a vicious attack with her war fan, only to see the blast of wind chakra somehow being… absorbed? "What the hell?"

"Mortals should not think they can defy gods," Tendo (Deva Path) raised his arm, after Gakiko (Preta Path) absorbed Temari's jutsu. Before he could attack, however, vines erupted from the ground, forcing all five bodies into evasive maneuvers.

As if this was the sign they had all been waiting for, all hell suddenly broke loose. Tsunade lashed out at Jiraiya, punching him straight into his gut. As the man flew away, Kisame aimed for Tsunade's neck, but Samehada never reached the Hokage. Maito Gai unleashed a furious kick against the man whom he mistakenly believed to have killed his eternal rival. Lastly, Konan attacked Temari, although her body, made out of paper, wasn't really well-suited to engage the futon specialist.

Pein, meanwhile, glared at Naruto.

"You used that Yamanaka to warn the others, and concealed their approach by masking their chakra with your own. It is an application of mokuton which I had not expected."

"I suppose that proves that even a god isn't all-knowing," Naruto taunted. "Or perhaps you're not the god you think you are?"

An explosion that forced all combating parties apart was the sole answer he got.

* * *

She stared seemingly impassively at her opponent. The lack of tension on her end seemed to incense her opponent only more, but truth be told: her mind was too occupied with other matters to care.

Tightly grabbing the war fan, the Kazekage stood up. Konan knew that the explosive tags had managed to knock the wind out of the young woman. She idly wondered why the kunoichi seemed to be so angered, before recalling that Suna's jinchuriki had been the girl's younger brother.

Smearing some blood over her fan, Temari gathered an amount of chakra that forced Konan to pay attention to the battle. "Futon: Okamaitachi no Jutsu (Wind Release: Great Sickle Weasel Technique)," was what Konan heard before Temari launched a greater and stronger attack than she had done till that point. The heavy air currents created by her fan collided, creating vacuum pockets which served to slash her enemies to even smaller bits. Add to this a scythe-wielding weasel summon, and…

Well, Konan was still not really worried. As long as she remained in her paper form, she avoided most of the damage. It was why Nagato's jutsu had bothered her only a little, previously. Unfortunately, the large-scale wind jutsu rendered her own Shikigami no Mai (Dance of the Shikigami) useless as well. It was pretty much a stalemate until one of the two kunoichi would run out of chakra, or find a way to outsmart the other.

Someone cursed behind her, loud enough to be heard from a distance, and when Konan reformed and looked what had happened, she saw how Kisame's attack had been blasted apart.

"You were not even aiming for me."

"I was aiming for both of you," Temari growled. "I'll exterminate you and your fellow Akatsuki scum! You will pay for what you have done!"

"I thought that Sunagakure barely cared about its jinchuriki," Konan knew it was a low blow, but in a battle of attrition, the one to lose her calm would likely be the one to lose.

"My brother changed. And you killed him! You even tried to twist his only true friend into an abomination, almost succeeding in the effort!"

"I must admit I only learned the truth about Uzumaki Naruto when it was already too late."

Somehow Temari had seen through Konan's scheme. Konan had to commend her for her perceptiveness. While not the strongest of the five, the Kazekage was clearly a highly intelligent young woman. Given a few years, Temari would have become a far greater threat to Akatsuki. Sadly, time was against her.

She had jumped up because she had seen the tags which Konan had been sneaking towards her, using her fan to glide through the air. Attacking from a high point, concentrating the blast of air in such a way that Konan would be forced to the ground… a valid strategy.

Sadly, the girl was too late. She had given Konan too much time to prepare, and she hadn't noticed how Konan had hidden herself, leaving a paper clone after Temari's previous large-scale attack. Temari's attack crushed the clone, but her victory was short-lived, as the explosive tags went off.

Konan bound her opponent in paper, almost like a mummy, after she had fallen to the ground. Smoking and groaning in pain, Temari's eyes were filled with a promise of certain death.

"Even in defeat your spirit isn't broken. Admirable," Konan donned a faint smile on her usually emotionless face. "Kunomori… Naruto, he spoke of a being called the Juubi. What is it?"

A thunderous sound tore through the silence left in the wake of that question. Konan couldn't tell whether it came from Nagato's direction, Jiraiya's, or Kisame's. But somewhere someone was putting up one hell of a fight.

"You're really serious, aren't you? You actually don't know," Temari eventually sighed. "So, even the members of Akatsuki are toyed with."

"What is the Juubi?" Konan repeated her question, not willing to waste time on idle chatter. "Why did Naruto say that Pein would be unable to control it?"

"Because the Ten Tails is the combination of all the bijuu, all nine of them, yet the sum of its power is even stronger than the mere combination of the nine. Even the Kyuubi seemed to fear it, stating that it was beyond the ability of any human to subdue it."

"The same was said about the Kyuubi."

"Well, there aren't any Uchiha alive, unless you have one on your side," Temari scowled. "Then again, if the sharingan would've been enough to control the Juubi, the Kyuubi wouldn't have stated it was beyond anyone's ability to control. It knows the sharingan all too well."

"Unless it was the sharingan of Uchiha Madara," Konan realized how deep this treachery went. They were all fooled by the weakest among them. Nagato didn't know. Naruto didn't know. Only Zetsu, the one too weak to be considered a serious threat, knew.

' _Zetsu played them out against each other, wanting to force Nagato into a situation where reviving Madara will be the only way out. But why is Zetsu manipulating Naruto to such an extent? Could it be that the mokuton kekkei genkai could be used to subdue the Juubi? If it can't be controlled by the most powerful sharingan in history, then perhaps having him… but Naruto would never voluntarily aid Zetsu. Keeping such a threat as a contingency wouldn't make sense.'_

"Madara? Hey, what are you doing?"

"Leaving," Konan said, looking back at the exhausted Kazekage. The paper bindings dissolved, the seals having done their task. "You are no longer a threat. Your war fan was destroyed by the explosion, and now I have left you drained from your chakra. I see no reason to continue this battle."

"What was that about Madara?"

"Nothing, if I can do anything about it," Konan mumbled. Was Zetsu planning to use Madara to control Naruto? The Kyuubi's sole weakness was the sharingan, after all. There were still too many unknowns. But one thing was obvious: Zetsu had to be stopped.

* * *

"Konoha Kaiganshou (Leaf Boulder Buster)!"

Lips turned upward, a grin unveiled the pointed teeth of the swordsman, amused by the pain he felt. Kisame had been bummed out that he couldn't get a shot at fighting Kunomori- Naruto- but this wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Sure, a kage would've been ideal, but this man in the green leotard was… well, he could probably mop the floor with most of the kage.

' _He probably just didn't get promoted to Hokage because he is weird,'_ Kisame chuckled. Weird. Kisame couldn't recall the last time that he had rightfully been able to call someone else weird. Well, apart from Hidan. But Hidan wasn't weird, per se, but rather just a lunatic. This green-clad guy, Gai, was truly confusing: shouting random phrases regarding youthfulness, for instance.

After the man had opened his sixth gate, Gai had become a true challenge. Kisame had rarely met anyone who had been able to outpace his ninjutsu. Worse, the man didn't rely on ninjutsu himself, pretty much negating the usual advantage that Samehada gave the shark-like man.

"Tsk, you really are a strange green beast," Kisame spat, emptying his mouth of blood. Getting an elbow to the head was never too pleasant, but with his pointy teeth… although, Kisame always had to mind not having his tongue sticking out.

"I told you," Gai shouted. Kisame wondered if the man had some defect with his vocal cords, enabling only to shout. "I won't let you get away with this!"

"Meh, it's not like I killed that 'eternal rival' fellow," Kisame shrugged.

"I swore I would avenge Kakashi's death! Hachimon Tonkou! (Eight celestial gates!) Seventh gate…. OPEN!"

' _I just told that idiot that I didn't kill Kakashi, didn't I?'_ Kisame felt a drop of sweat running down the back of his head.

"Howl, my youth!" was the only warning Kisame got before he turned into a human pinball. The situation got even more precarious when he lost his grip on Samehada.

"Enough!" Kisame growled. Fighting was a fun way to get the heart pumping, one of the few things that actually made the weathered shinobi feel _alive_. But, Kisame had no intention of losing. Gai's speed was a great disadvantage to Kisame, but not one that the former Kiri shinobi couldn't circumvent. "Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shoha (Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave)."

Using the water from the nearby river, the water from the rain that soaked all the soil around them, and the moisture from the raining skies, Kisame created a huge tidal wave of water, crushing into the location where Gai was standing.

"Now you're fighting on my turf, green beast," Kisame glared at his opponent. "Suiro Samedori no Jutsu! (Water Prison Shark Dance Technique)" The jutsu uncharacteristically exhausted Kisame, but without Samehada and a target to drain, Kisame could only rely on his own chakra reserves. As vast as they might be, casting two consecutive high-level jutsu was draining for anyone except a jinchuriki.

The water rose up, forming a giant dome. Kisame was at the center of it, but Gai was too close to escape. While Kisame had the ability to breathe underwater, Gai could not. Never had Kisame lost a battle after using this jutsu; that he was forced by Gai to use it was an acknowledgement of the man's skill, as far as Kisame was concerned.

Something tugged at his hand, and Kisame's grin widened when he saw his partner had returned. The sentient blade, however, seemed far less pleased. It was worried, restless, and agitated by the chakra that permeated the area. There was something seeping through the ground, leeching and draining everything that had even a modicum of energy. A sense of wrongness distracted Kisame, just enough for him to fail to notice the approach of a trio of shinobi.

The kunoichi launched a barrage of weapons, many of them with explosive notes attached to them. Kisame, strained by the unearthly energy drain, worn down by expending so much chakra, and distracted by whatever caused such a disturbance, was unable to maintain his jutsu under the barrage of explosions.

"Good job, Tenten," the more boisterous of the two remaining shinobi exclaimed. It was a smaller version, a copy almost to the smallest detail, of Maito Gai. The other, a Hyuga, considering the eyes, was nodding in agreement. There were teenagers- kids.

"Get lost," Kisame growled. "I don't want to waste my time on a couple of brats." Whatever unnerved Samehada did little to improve Kisame's mood. That chakra wasn't Pein's. Yes, Kisame could clearly feel his leader's chakra, but that other source… could it be Naruto? It was heavy, smothering, yet Samehada for some reason refused to absorb the traces that were running through the ground. Or was it that his blade was unable to absorb it?

Somehow, that idea vexed Kisame even more.

* * *

" _Naruto died three years ago. That boy is a fake, a product of a broken-hearted girl who twisted the memories of a boy who seemed so familiar to the one she loved."_

Those words hurt, worse than she had ever expected. Jiraiya had talked about her as if she was some kind of delusional, lovesick little girl. It hurt so much because she too doubted her own sanity. The sorrow and grief she had felt after she thought that Naruto had died, followed by the foolish hope that he was still alive… the hope that came true. He survived. He was alive. Yet…

" _A boy who seemed so familiar to the one she loved."_

What Ino found was not the same Naruto she had always known. The Naruto she knew, the Naruto she loved, was he still there? He had changed so much, in the entire way he behaved, even in how he talked. It terrified her. It scared her that the boy she had stubbornly refused to stop caring for had become so different.

' _He loves Ajisai now. He has experienced so much pain… I know, because I know how much it hurts to lose the one you love,'_ Ino grimaced. She couldn't blame him for falling in love with another girl, not when he had lost his memories for such a long time. ' _Ajisai died. Naruto-kun is hurt and confused, but after this war… perhaps… I should keep hope… but it feels so despicable that I am allowed to hope, only due to the death of Ajisai. And yet I can't think of anything but that foolish hope.'_

Hope. It was the very thing which Jiraiya seemed to have lost. Whatever happened between Tsunade and Jiraiya, Ino did not know. Not even Shizune knew the details, other than that some words were spoken that destroyed a bond of friendship that had lasted for decades. The Jiraiya that Ino had known seemed to have vanished, turned into a cold and ruthless shinobi.

" _A product of a broken-hearted girl."_

Did Jiraiya truly believe that she had twisted the mind of someone who looked like Naruto? Why would the man even think such a thing? Regardless of the conflict between the two sannin, that made zero sense. Naruto had changed, a lot, but he was still obviously him. His chakra, his looks, and most of all those eyes, even if they only rarely showed that cheerful sparkle, they were still his eyes. It was so obvious to her, that she wondered why Jiraiya did not see it. Or did he not _want_ to see it? Ino knew better than most that Jiraiya cared a great deal about Naruto. He was Naruto's godfather, after all! Why would such a man come with such a terrible accusation?

" _That boy is a fake."_

No, Yamanaka Ino smelled something fishy, and she was determined to find out what it was. Like many of her clan, Ino possessed some sensory abilities, and used those to assess whether Jiraiya was caught in a genjutsu. It was something she was forced to do from a distance, as she couldn't get to close to the fight between him and Tsunade.

' _Tsunade-sama might have taught me a thing or two, but there's no way I'm fast enough to get close without ending up dead,'_ Ino swallowed nervously when she saw Jiraiya summon a massive toad. The rusty red amphibian wore a vest that could easily cover a two-story building, and wielded a blade that seemed more fit for destroying entire forests than just a one-on-one battle.

None of the signs of a genjutsu were visible to Ino, and the man didn't seem conflicted in his actions either. Had there still been Uchiha alive, she would have suspected that a sharingan had somehow ensnared the man in an illusion. But that theory didn't check out either. Besides, she could see how Tsunade leaped up the toad- from a distance it seemed as if the animal was utterly surprised by Jiraiya's opponent- and hit Jiraiya. Tsunade didn't give him a chakra-powered punch, no, but rather a subtle touch.

Obviously, Tsunade knew that something was off as well. Something was terribly wrong with the gallant toad sage. Akatsuki had caught him, warped him, turned him against Konoha. Why? How? Ino pushed her brains to find an answer. She had to find it. If Jiraiya could be freed from whatever hold that Akatsuki held over him, the alliance would gain a powerful shinobi. Ino was determined to change the course of this battle- for Konoha- for Tsunade.

For Naruto.

* * *

He had been floating in that body of water, which had unexpectedly risen up and enveloped him. Part of him had considered opening the last and eighth gate, which would lead to his death, but dying right now was not something that seemed very appealing. Not to mention that releasing the eighth gate here and now would a violation of his father's wishes, and Gai's promise.

While Maito Gai was pretty sure that he could defeat Kisame if he released that power, he wasn't sure whether or not he could reach any of the others in time. Tsunade was fighting Jiraiya, who had somehow betrayed everything that he had ever stood for, and Naruto was fighting against the leader of Akatsuki. Things weren't looking good.

The other part of him, however, had a far more pressing matter to worry about. Taijutsu, especially his style of taijutsu, demanded a lot of the body. Adrenaline was rushing, the heart was beating at an incredible rate, and his breath… when a human body is pushed to the limits, it demands more oxygen. Gai had pushed his body seven steps beyond its natural limits.

Not to mention, the water had caught him by surprise. There was no time for a last deep breath. He was running out of time and options, and fast. That was when he saw his team, his three precious students. They set him free. Tenten blowing up the dome of water, while Neji and Lee rushed in to extract their soaked sensei. Gai couldn't say whether he was extremely proud of the trio, or extremely worried that they had got themselves involved in this mess.

It was neither pride nor worry that Kisame felt, though. "Suiton: Senshokuko (Water Release: A Thousand Feeding Sharks)," he roared out in fury.

Gai paled, but had no time to think. Kisame had just created, it seemed, one thousand sharks out of water. The sharks formed a wall formation and rained down to attack him and his three precious students, leaving Gai with no way out. Well, he knew he could escape the attack, and if he had opened his gates Lee would be fast enough as well, but Neji and Tenten would definitely be caught in an attack as massive and devastating as this.

Powered by reckless desperation, Gai didn't consider the consequences, couldn't care about what the state the attack would leave him in, and simply gave it his all. He would rather exhaust himself to death than let Kisame harm his students!

"Hirudora!"

With the seventh gate already open, Gai folded his hand in a hand seal which only he knew- it had been his own invention, after all. The massive amount of air pressure which he created was launched at Kisame's tidal wave of water-sharks. Just like Gai's hand seal, the attack seemed shaped like a tiger: the Afternoon Tiger.

Neji had to shield his eyes, deactivating his byakugan, in order to prevent being blinded. The massive explosion caused by the Hirudora tore right through Kisame's water-based attack. While Lee was awed that his sensei could launch such a powerful attack, Tenten worried about the damage the explosion could have caused if they had been any closer to the front lines. The explosion from the two clashing jutsu was too massive, and she hoped that no one else ended up being drawn into it.

Lee shouted, rushing towards his sensei. Gai had exerted every bit of energy he had, putting it all in this single attack. It left the man exhausted, on the brink of consciousness. Now the damage caused by opening the seven gates began to kick in.

As their teammate looked after their sensei, Tenten and Neji rushed towards the center of the explosion. His eyes reactivated, Neji ran straight towards the broken form of the 'tailless bijuu'. Hoshigaki Kisame was left appalled. Never in his long years as a shinobi had he been reduced to this state. Incapacitated and fallen, the once proud swordsman of Kirigakure looked up at the young Hyuga. Neji saw the spasm in Kisame's hand, as if the man tried to reach out to his sword.

"It isn't here," Neji's glare remained impassive.

"That wasn't chakra," Kisame spat out a mouth full of blood. "So this… is my end. What… meaningless… Gheh. As expected."

"Akatsuki was destined to fail," Neji's hand glowed with chakra, and without a shred of remorse he struck. Kisame coughed out more blood, before his shark-like teeth contorted in a bloody smirk. Neji had destroyed his heart. "Tenten?"

"I can't find it!"

"Ten meters to your left, near that split boulder," Neji gave her the location. Kisame and Samehada had been separated due to the explosion.

"Got it!"

Neji waited a few moments before he moved away from Kisame, ensuring that the man had truly died. When he saw the chakra in Kisame's tenketsu lose its color, he knew that the man had truly met his end. Rolling out a scroll, Neji hastily drew a storage seal, and sealed away Kisame's corpse. Perhaps it could be of value later on. Corpses could hold unexpected secrets, and the value behind them could vary drastically.

Having executed the somewhat morbid task with flawless efficiency, Neji turned to his teammate, only to frown at her.

"What?" Tenten huffed.

"Why are you… _petting_ a sword?" Neji honestly did not know how he was supposed to respond to the sight in front of him.

"It's sad," Tenten explained, as if it was as clear as day. "Samehada lost its master, but it's not a bad sword, is it?" she patted the sword, almost like a regular person would pat a sad puppy.

"We should go," Neji shook his head, deciding to stay out of it. Tenten was a geek when it came to weapons, so any thought he had he would keep to himself. "So seal the sword away and get moving."

"Eh? Seal it away? No way! Samehada is way too cute for that!"

"Right… _cute_ ," Neji's sarcasm wasn't lost on the kunoichi. "We should take Gai-sensei back to the field hospital- and I can see the Kazekage too. She's unconscious, it seems, but lost her battle. So there is no time for us to stick around. Especially when Naruto keeps amassing chakra at this rate…"

* * *

"That's it! I don't know what kind of mess this is, but I'm done with this!" With the subtlety of a blunt knife, Gamabunta declared that he was fed up with this. He had fought alongside the toad sage for decades, but never had the man forced him to fight against an ally. Especially when the man had refused to explain why this was even happening.

Fighting Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure, as well as her summon Katsuyu, was not part of the deal. But while Jiraiya's two opponents did not seem to fight to kill- Katsuyu had not released her acid, something for which Gamabunta was grateful- Jiraiya fought in earnest.

Well, the boss summon of the toads had seen enough. With no explanations given, he refused to fight a friend. So, he bailed on his summoner.

Surprised by the sudden departure of the toad, Jiraiya fell down, right through the billowing cloud of smoke left in Gamabunta's wake. In his fall, Jiraiya's hair grew out at an exponential rate, surrounding him, defending him from the impact. The moment he bounced back, the hair went loose, and Jiraiya rushed through another set of hand seals.

Wordlessly, he turned the ground underneath Katsuyu into a swamp. Without Gamabunta around, however, the colossal slug saw no reason to remain in one 'piece'. She split into a multitude of smaller slugs, infesting the entire swamp. Tsunade rushed at her oldest friend, the last of her team. Sarutobi Hiruzen had died, Orochimaru had died, and now… now, she feared that she would be forced to kill her last teammate.

However, she first would have to get to him. Jiraiya knew her combat style better than anyone still alive, so the importance of staying out of her reach wasn't something anyone needed to explain to him. Had she trained seriously in these past few years, rather than drowning herself in alcohol, Tsunade would not have faced such a great disadvantage in terms of speed. Yes, her raw physical strength was superior, a thing that was so normal that she simply took it for granted, but like she always told Ino and Shizune: strength is only useful when you're able to hit your opponent. Both her students shared that remarkable flexibility, yet in spite of her youthful appearance, Tsunade knew that it was slipping from her. She was too far past her prime, and this long time of depression had left her weaker than she could have been.

By contrast, Jiraiya was a honed shinobi, combining both experience and skill. He wasn't exactly a teenager either, but he was in a far better condition. But that wasn't just it… now that she fought him, Tsunade noticed several small differences in his style. He used to be one for the theatrics, wasting some of his moves for the sake of silliness, goading and taunting his enemies, but not now. 'This' Jiraiya moved with a ruthless efficiency that was more befitting Orochimaru than the toad sage. He was too analytical, moved too precisely, yet still Tsunade found no trace of genjutsu.

"Jiraiya! Stop this! Please!" she begged of him. "When I thought Naruto died, I was devastated. You know why I came back to Konoha. You know why he was able to convince me, when no one else could! I was in such pain that I said things that I shouldn't have-"

"You said what you had to say," Jiraiya hissed. "But it matters little. We are beyond redemption anyway, so the only thing that matters is that we leave a better future."

"And you honestly think that Akatsuki brings that? They want to recreate a monster, Jiraiya! A monster capable of destroying nations," Tsunade urged. "This isn't _you_."

He ignored her words, and attacked. Tsunade was grateful that Gamabunta had refused to aid the man against people whom the toads considered their allies, something that evidently reached the other toads as well, as Jiraiya's attempts to summon another toad failed.

She was glad that it failed. Her having the backing of Katsuyu was an advantage she truly needed.

" _Tsunade-sama!_ "

' _Ino?'_ Tsunade grimaced when the moment of distraction nearly ended with her being hit by Jiraiya's rasengan.

" _Can you hold Jiraiya-sama down, if only for a second?_ "

' _Why? What is going on?'_

" _There is something… I sensed something that is stuck in Jiraiya-sama's chest. And just now, when you dodged his attack, I felt it again. It is faint, very faint, and it is as if it is constantly changing its frequency, but there is some kind of signal from whatever is stuck in him!"_

A fire attack nearly blinded her, but it was nothing Tsunade couldn't recover from. It irked her that she had to resort to her Byakugo no Jutsu already- she had hoped to spare it until she could face Pein.

' _But I need that boost now,'_ Tsunade thought. She couldn't feel Ino's presence anymore, and wondered what the girl was planning. She quickly focused, though, and lunged at Jiraiya. With all the chakra coursing through her body, Tsunade felt herself speeding up.

It was enough to make her attempt to destroy whatever was affecting Jiraiya by herself. Her hand lashed out to his chest, her electrified touch sending his body into disarray. Ranshinsho (Body Pathway Derangement) was something she had invented by herself, and…

It would have been effective against pretty much anyone else. The lightning chakra disrupting Jiraiya's was somehow negated. Obviously he had found a way to undo its effects. ' _I shouldn't have used this jutsu on him when he was perving around the hot springs…'_ she berated herself. What good was a trump card against someone who already knew the jutsu? Still, he faltered, if only for a second, long enough for her to grab hold of his left wrist- a hold which she refused to relinquish.

"Rasengan," he grunted. Before she had the chance to grab his other arm, Jiraiya had already formed the deadly spinning orb of chakra. She had a choice to make, only a split-second to decide, whether to let go of his left wrist or to take the attack.

* * *

Jiraiya was faster, and without Katsuyu inhibiting his movement- he _had_ to dodge her acid attacks- she knew that he would eventually defeat Tsunade. As her assistant, and to some degree also her student, Yamanaka Ino knew better than most how durable Tsunade could be. Still, a battle of attrition was not in her favor- because Senju Tsunade was not fighting to kill Jiraiya, Ino knew.

She had seen the woman grieve for Naruto, but that mindset had only worsened due to the falling out she had had with Jiraiya. Every time Tsunade mentioned him, Ino had seen the pain, guilt, and shame, in those brown eyes.

That was why she had proposed this specific strategy. Tsunade wouldn't be able to harm him, and Ino didn't want her to. No, it was better to hold him down, so that Ino could strike at the point where she sensed that strange chakra signature. It… it all made her feel very powerless. Amongst an entire war, with people fighting for the fate of the world itself, here she was. The most valuable thing she had done so far was aiding in healing those unfortunate souls who had been targeted by Konoha scouts (who took out their hatred against Amegakure on those innocent people). Oh, and she informed people when Naruto was attacked.

' _My moment of glory,_ ' she though cynically. ' _Mentally conveying to my fellow clan members that Akatsuki had started to attack… after which I'm told to keep my distance and stay out of it. It'll be over my dead body if that's the most valuable thing I'll contribute to this war!'_

It was not that Ino had any illusions about her combat abilities: she was nowhere near as strong as an S-rank shinobi. They were right that she'd be a liability in such a battle, as she would be killed in a matter of seconds. She had seen some of the monstrously strong jutsu Naruto could pull off… which made her look at her own kunai with disgust.

Was such a trivial thing going to hold her back? No. Even the smallest of pebbles could cause a landslide. She was no quitter. She was a proud kunoichi who'd carry her own weight in one way or another. It was that tenacity that she had learned from another blond. No matter what, he'd never give up, so neither would she. She'd show him, make him notice her again, and prove that hope should never be abandoned.

Such resolve the young girl had. Yet it was so easily shaken.

All it took was for a rasengan to drill its way into Tsunade's shoulder to make Ino lose her momentum. There was a split-second during which she could have caught Jiraiya off-guard, and she blew it by gasping at the gruesome injury her Hokage received.

Quick as lightning, Jiraiya turned to the incoming Yamanaka. Oxygen was drawn to his lungs, further fueled with chakra, as Jiraiya prepared his attack. Ino's eyes widened. A katon jutsu from such close range, with such an amount of chakra behind it…

It definitely created quite a bit of steam.

Tsunade knew she'd have to apologize to Katsuyu later, as many of the slugs smaller forms had ended up in the inferno, but she'd live through that. The slug was far too durable to be crippled by the loss of a few of her parts. Ino, on the other hand, would not be so durable. As such, Tsunade had used all of her strength, in spite of her injury, and dragged Jiraiya away. She still held his left wrist, after all.

The flames flew over the area which Jiraiya had previously turned into a swamp. This time, it was he who was caught off-guard. The moment he needed in order to regain his footing was the moment in which he lost sight of the young Yamanaka.

The moment he needed to locate her again was all the time she needed to strike at his chest.

* * *

Paper fluttered through the air, unperturbed by the changes in the world. Something was going horribly wrong, that much was obvious, but Konan knew there was little she could change about it. She was unable to halt Nagato, and knew she could do just as little to stop Naruto. Even before he had left Amegakure, when she still knew him as Kunomori, he had demonstrated how shockingly easily he could counter her jutsu.

"Dead wood," was how his clone had described her paper. While she had not let him notice it, Konan had been taken aback by the ease with which he had detected and countered her. He had known all along how she had kept an eye on him, and merely _allowed_ her to do it.

No, there was nothing she could do to prevent Nagato and Naruto from clashing, not now- not when Nagato had fallen so deeply. Her friend had forgotten everything that he once stood for, and become a twisted parody of himself. Konan knew exactly who was to blame for that.

As a sickening chakra crept through the atmosphere, seemingly draining the life from all vegetation, Konan instinctively knew what had happened. Nagato had used his trump card. While Naruto's chakra seeped through the ground, leeching and draining everything that had even a modicum of energy, even the air above was affected. It felt wrong, in ways Konan could not fully describe.

It was an emptiness that defied reason… emotion should not be able to be sensed as raw and directly as _this_. It wasn't just pain, sorrow, anger, but something far beyond it. There was a sort of desolation, an apathy that sucked away all energy, it permeated everything. Naruto's chakra had been so full of life, and yet it had somehow turned into the exact opposite.

' _I have to hurry,'_ she urged herself. ' _As long as the plan is still intact, Nagato will not stop to think about the alternatives. And even then… he's become too extreme in his thinking. What he did to sensei, what he did with Ajisai, I cannot hope to reason with him at this point. Nothing I've said before reached him, so there is only one path left.'_

As she reformed, Konan reconsidered her course of action. Should she stop this? Yes. Could she stop either Naruto or Nagato? No. Could she kill Zetsu? She doubted it. Zetsu, the blacker half at least, was exceedingly slippery. He could just sink into the ground and escape. Once he got away, killing him would be far more difficult.

' _No, this is the best course of action,'_ she repeated to herself. Idly she wondered why she had to repeat this train of thought. The answer was simple. ' _I'm betraying Akatsuki by doing the very thing that Yahiko wanted Akatsuki to do. Nagato… how could you have fallen so deeply? Why didn't I see it sooner? This mess is just as much my failure.'_

Walking down the stairs, Konan entered what was likely the only underground facility in Amegakure. Buildings in this village were mostly above the ground level. The soil simply wasn't very suitable for underground facilities, while it was in most other nations. Beyond that, there was the point that Amegakure didn't _need_ to create underground facilities. Amegakure was fortified enough as it was. It was already nigh impenetrable under Hanzo's paranoid rule, only for it to truly become a stronghold where no one could enter without being noticed, after Nagato took over. This was why Ame, even after it needed to rebuild after the third shinobi world war, was rather different from most other hidden villages.

But for Akatsuki's purposes, an underground hall was needed. Thus, Nagato had created it. This was where the Gedo Mazo was housed, normally. This was where a host of Zetsu clones were housed, although Konan had strong suspicions that Zetsu was hiding a lot more. This was where the unconscious forms of three jinchuriki were hidden, awaiting their sealing. But most of all, this was where Konan's target was hidden.

If Zetsu played Naruto and Nagato out against each other, if Zetsu wanted Nagato to be pushed to the point where he'd resort to such desperate measures, then Konan would stop it at the root.

"Oh? **Konan?** What are you doing here?" the whiter half asked innocently. The blacker half, however, looked at the woman with distrust.

' _Of course he was here, at the heart of all things. The conductor of this wicked symphony.'_ "I thought I had to make a decision between two options," Konan only had the slightest of smiles adorning her face. "It seems I was wrong."

"Choices? **You are wrong indeed… why did you not kill the Kazekage?** And why did you go here? You were close to Kisame, and could've saved him. Now he's dead," White Zetsu whined, but Black Zetsu ignored the banter- still staring at the woman in front of them.

"Putting Naruto and Nagato against each other, it is all part of your plan, is it not? Reviving Madara in order to control the Kyuubi jinchuriki, controlling the Kyuubi jinchuriki in order to subjugate the Juubi, this whole thing has been your plan."

Covertly, she spread explosive tags throughout the room. Zetsu wouldn't notice that things had gone wrong until it was too late.

" **It seems you caught me,** we're busted! Whadda we do now? She's going to ruin everything! We're doooomed!"

"Tell me why, Zetsu," Konan demanded, leaking out more and more explosive tags. She didn't care about hiding it anymore. She came here to kill the three unconscious jinchuriki, to destroy Madara's corpse, and if possible, to terminate Zetsu as well. Hundreds had spread, but now that she committed more chakra to it, she released tags by the thousands.

" **Mother has been waiting for a very, very long time.** And now you stand in our way…"

"Mother?" Konan frowned.

"Just kidding!" Zetsu cackled, waving cheekily as he began to sink into the ground.

At a mere flick of her finger all the tags went off, the entire room exploded, drowning all those present in a sea of flames.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Zetsu is quite the elusive bastard, isn't he? Why was he so damn happy? And what about Konan? And Jiraiya? Not to mention: what the hell is going on with Naruto? Did Samehada like being petted by Tenten?! Questions, questions…

On one end, these combat-centric chapters are a pain to write, yet at the same time they're oddly rewarding once they're _finally_ finished. Still, I keep feeling like I should've done better. I'm not one for the step-by-step descriptions of battles, finding it extremely annoying to read fics which go overboard with details on that aspect, but at the same time… the manga on which this is based has combat as a central focus. So I gotta do it, at least to some degree, even if I don't feel like it is my forte.

But I hope it was still enjoyable! Because, in spite of this chapter being shorter than the previous, I don't think I'm exaggerating when I tell you it took at least twice the amount of time to write this one! So please **review** and share your thoughts!

More than ever I have to say 'thank you' to **Illuminated** , who regrets that he must retire from beta work for the time being. Here are some parting words:

" _Ziltoid, thank you for the opportunity to help. I have read so much great fiction on this site, especially yours, and being able to lend a hand to you and a few other authors really assuaged my guilt at not contributing anything of my own. It has been an honor to associate with a gentleman and Naruto scholar such as yourself, and to enjoy the wild ride along with everybody else, albeit at the front of the roller coaster rather than in the middle or the back." —Illuminated_

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	18. Kunomori, the empty forest

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Eighteen**

 **Kunomori, the empty forest**

* * *

" _As far as you can avoid it, do not give grief to anyone. Never inflict your rage on another. If you hope for eternal rest, feel the pain yourself; but don't hurt others."_

― Omar Khayyám

* * *

"Stupid Konan-chan. **You should thank her for not warning Nagato.** Yeah, that would've been far more annoying," White Zetsu agreed with his darker half. "Still… **The Gedo Mazo is buried, but isn't damaged by such an attack. We can easily summon it back.** And the jinchuriki? Did our plan work? **Of course it did.** "

Both halves of Zetsu laughed when they resurfaced in a hideout on the northern border between Ame and Kusagakure. This hideout was known only to Zetsu, a place where even the foolish alliance wouldn't look, because Naruto had no knowledge of it. As the dual-colored Zetsu rose up, three white clones gave a cheery salute.

"Just in time, boss!"

"Number two too!" the second said proudly.

"Me three!"

" **Where's the fourth?** " Black Zetsu ignored the poo-pun. In spite of spending so much time near the White Zetsu, he had never understood their fixation with the inefficient way humans disposed of their bodily waste materials.

"He's with you?" the first clone looked at the second.

"No, not with me," the second shrugged, turning to the third.

"I thought he was behind you?"

" **Ugh… shut up,** " Black Zetsu grimaced. He looked at the hall. The tiny window between sensing Konan's approach and her entering the cave had actually been insufficient. " **At least the jinchuriki are here.** That means… **yes, Madara's body is a lost cause.** Bummer! **I'd rather lose him than having to wait until the bijuu reform.** That would've been boring."

"What should we do?" the three clones chorused, happily awaiting orders. They cared but a little for the destruction of Madara's body.

" **Help the others. Spread chaos,** " Black Zetsu commanded. He had intended Akatsuki to eliminate the key players of the alliance. That Kisame failed, and Konan betrayed him, was a disappointment. Still, the truly crucial battle was taking place between Nagato and Naruto. All else was merely a sideshow. Although… the alliance was suffering great losses due to all the disguised Zetsu clones.

He had successfully turned the Kumogakure troops against those of Iwagakure, only after putting down one fake corpse of Kumo's jinchuriki. The Raikage was indeed an overly emotional man when it concerned his little brother. Emotional people were so easily manipulated.

None of these fools realized that the entire war against Amegakure was merely a charade. The more shinobi died, the fewer would be left to oppose Zetsu's plans in the wake of this war. Using a few hundred clones to create confusion, letting them cause bitter battles between friends and allies, it had all part of his plan. Divide and conquer. Konoha, Suna, Kiri… all the villages would come out of this war weaker than at the start.

Yes… the Juubi would not be all-powerful at the very start. That timeframe would be the most dangerous. And Zetsu couldn't allow the hidden villages to pose a threat to his mother.

"I wonder if Mei-chan can keep the alliance in order," White Zetsu snickered.

" **She'll try. Powerful as she may be, she will still fail.** "

"They aren't very unified, are they?"

"… **we've wasted enough time,** " Black Zetsu grunted. " **Let's go. It is time to fetch our little puppets.** "

* * *

 _Some time earlier._

Dark pants, dark shirt, green flak jacket… his clothing mattered little to him. That it could get damaged mattered even less. The only exception was his sash. The brown orange sash which Ajisai had given him. A sash which had received a cut…

Tall as a mountain, the Juichimen Kan'on towered over the battlefield. And yet Pein had been able to push it back. "Shinra Tensei," was all that he had said, after which a massive force pushed Naruto back. Standing on top of the statue's head, his feet rooted within the construct, Naruto never expected the leader of Akatsuki to have such power.

Deep tracks were left in the muddy soil, a reminder of how the Kan'on had been pushed back. Below, Naruto saw Pein. Or, one of the Peins. There had been five. Extending his senses, Naruto tracked down the others. The other four were indeed near, while there were two more with the same signature hiding on what seemed to be a giant lizard of sorts. Expecting trouble while dealing with one Pein, Naruto was not too happy with the realization that there were seven.

He hoped that the others would be fine. Konan and Kisame had been there, and for whatever reason Jiraiya stood at their side, rather than at the side of Konoha. If not for the seven bodies of Pein, Naruto would try to influence the other battles. Once more he looked at the sash. The force had damaged the Kan'on, and splinters had flown off. One of said splinters had ended up ripping the cloth.

…Pein had dared to harm the gift from Ajisai.

The crimson lines surrounding Naruto's eyes only added to the effect of the glare. Slit pupils stared down. Five pairs of rippled eyes stared up, impassive as always.

And then the view in one pair dulled.

* * *

Only at the very last moment had Pein noticed the attack. Having exhausted much of Tendo's (Deva path's) chakra, it was left weakened and vulnerable. For some reason beyond Nagato's understanding Naruto had picked up on that, and intended to exploit it while he could.

"How futile," Tendo droned, its voice impassive. As if he had not just seen the tree roots lash up from the ground and tear Ningendo (Human Path) to pieces. Pein knew that Ningendo's talents were relatively useless against Naruto. Much unlike those of Tendo.

Still, that Naruto, even if he stood atop that wooden giant, kept the ability to manipulate the surrounding nature to such a degree was something Nagato had not expected. He thought Naruto would have needed to be in direct contact with the soil.

' _It seems that construct is more troublesome than initially calculated,'_ Tendo fell back a little, still waiting for his abilities to return. Shinra Tensei was powerful, but the time the Path needed to recharge was one of the sole weaknesses this body had. Luckily the others could cover for that weakness.

* * *

Shurado (Asura Path) discarded its Akatsuki cloak, and its body morphed. Naruto had precious little information on the Rinnegan and its abilities. He knew vague rumors of 'the six gods', or the 'six bodies of Kami', from back when he lived in Amegakure. But even Ajisai hadn't known anything beyond those vague descriptions. She, like the vast majority of the Ame shinobi, had never seen Pein. That had made Naruto cautious. Sure, he had felt Pein's power, the vast chakra reserves which the man had, but he knew nothing about the abilities which the man had.

These seven near-identical chakra signatures were disturbing him. Could they be clones? No, that didn't seem to be the case. They were solid, had varying appearances, and their abilities seemed to be unique too. One controlled some sort of gravitational field, which rendered that Pein weak after using it- Naruto had sensed how that Pein's chakra had dwindled after the attack. Another Pein, a stockier version with the same rippled-pattern eyes and orange hair as the others, had shown the ability to absorb chakra when Temari had tried to attack him.

And now the tallest of the five turned out to be some kind of demented Swiss army knife. The rockets flying from that Pein's arms caused significant explosions, strong to the extent that they managed to damage the Juichimen Kan'on.

' _Seems like playing defense would be in my disadvantage, but I have to remain careful. Who knows what abilities the others might have?'_ Naruto tried to keep calm. Ignoring the war that unfolded around him was the best option right now. The sooner he defeated Pein, the sooner this pointless war ended. But defeating Pein had sounded so much easier when they began to plan this war…

With the abilities of the rinnegan unknown, Naruto felt suspicious that Pein was so willing to sacrifice one of his bodies in order to rescue the body with the gravitational powers. He didn't want to assume that the destroyed Pein was useless in combat, so… would there be some sort of trick? Were they more akin to puppets, and did Pein have the ability to somehow repair them?

" _ **The one with the gravitation is waiting for his power to return, but the other one over there, the one with the diagonal row of piercings in his face, is also hanging back,**_ _"_ Kurama noted.

' _I saw, Kurama. But-'_

" _ **That Pein is making a flanking maneuver,"**_ the Kyuubi cut Naruto off. _"_ _ **He's moving towards the one that you just killed.**_ _"_

' _Haven't you, like, seen the rinnegan before? What's it capable of?'_

" _ **Are you seriously asking me?**_ _"_ Naruto couldn't see the nine tailed fox, but judging by the sound in his head the fox was frowning. _"_ _ **The Rikudo Sennin had the rinnegan. And he created me and my brethren out of the Juubi. So… it can do pretty much anything? That is under the conjecture that this 'Pein' has the same abilities.**_ _"_

Naruto silently begrudged that the bijuu couldn't be a bit more specific, but considering how both their lives were on the line he was inclined to trust that Kurama didn't know any more. One absorbs, one repels, and one turned into a living congregation of weapons. That left two others, plus the two that were hiding.

Something roared, after which Naruto felt the statue under his feet shake from the impact. A giant rhino, also with rinnegan for eyes, had assaulted the Kan'on.

"Dammit… so he has summons too?" Naruto grit his teeth. The Kan'on grabbed the far smaller animal and crushed it, but immediately afterwards an enormous panda and a giant centipede came out of the woods.

" _ **It would seem that one of the two Peins that are hiding has the ability to summon various kinds of creatures,**_ _"_ Kurama noted dryly. As if Naruto hadn't noticed that by now.

"This is ridiculous."

" _ **He fancies himself a god, so what did you expect?"**_

"…you're not helping," Naruto sprouted trees to attack the Swiss-army-knife-Pein, stopping that one from launching those pesky rockets, while pouring chakra into creating three new wooden dragons. Those would have to deal with the summons spawned by the hidden Pein. "I'm a sitting duck out here. Time to change strategy."

* * *

Seated atop an enormous chameleon, Nagato kept his eyes closed. In spite of his newfound mobility he still preferred to fight through his six paths. Especially while the complete powers of his adversary remained a partially unknown threat. He couldn't tell which option was more annoying: that the boy had hidden the true extent of his powers while he resided in Amegakure, or that he had suddenly grown by such an extent.

Attacking with five paths, while Chikushodo (Animal Path) produced summons which assaulted Naruto's wood dragons, Nagato had thought that he would easily gain the upper hand. This alliance was fragile, and he was confident that Kisame, Jiraiya, and Konan were able to eliminate the other leaders. Without those leaders the allied forces would lose morale. But the true champion of the five villages was Uzumaki Naruto. Whether they knew it or not, Naruto was the only true threat which Nagato saw. The thunderous destructive power of a sage, the vast chakra reserves of a jinchuriki, all combined with what was perhaps the most powerful kekkei genkai of them all…

That even Nagato had seen no other option but to sacrifice one of his paths, in what was effectively just a simple attack from the boy, was evidence enough with regard to how big of threat he thought the boy was. Kisame had been eager to fight him, but Nagato knew that only he stood a chance.

He put more attention to Jigokudo (Naraka Path), as it sneaked around the battlefield and approached the fallen Ningendo (Human Path). Having so much experience in controlling the six bodies, he was not at all disturbed by seeing things six times. Or five, as was now the case. However, he was accustomed to keeping himself out of the equation. Personally participating in battle was something he had not done since he summoned the Gedo Mazo for the very first time. The day Hanzo and Danzo had betrayed them, the day Yahiko had perished.

Konoha would pay for that. Konoha would bleed for the murder of his parents. Nagato would never forget, never forgive, and never rest until he got what he wanted. No matter how strong this jinchuriki was, he would not allow anyone to stand in his way. And the first action through which that would be accomplished would be…

Wait.

Nagato kept his eyes closed, but frowned nonetheless. Where did it go? Tendo, Shurado, and Gakido were still locked in combat with the jinchuriki, whom stood on top of the gargantuan wooden Kan'on statue. The summoned creatures were still entangled with the wooden dragons. Yet…

"Where did Jigokudo go?" Nagato muttered to himself. The signal was gone. He had been looking through the Path's eyes, controlling its every move, and then… it just disappeared. It had just stood in front of the fallen Ningendo, and then the signal just vanished. This had never happened before, not to him.

Especially not with the most essential of his Six Paths of Pein.

* * *

" _ **What was that?**_ _"_

"I touched that black thing," Naruto mumbled, answering Kurama's question. Only for a second, only to pull it out of the body of his fallen opponent. The Pein he had killed first had worn the same sort of piercings, and the one that he had just decapitated was no different. Except, when Naruto tried to examine this newly-dead Pein, he got a jolt of chakra through his fingers.

A jolt which even Kurama felt, deeply hidden within the seal in which he resided.

" _ **Whatever this Pein-figure is doing, this was just plain wrong.**_ _"_

' _What do you mean?_ '

" _ **Think, meatbag. You see these bodies, littered with those rods. Those things are some kind of chakra receptors. Whoever the real Pein is, these bodies are controlled from a distance. Although this is as different from regular puppetry as I am from a regular fox,**_ _"_ the voice had a pensive tone to it, which worried Naruto. If nothing else, he trusted Kurama's ability to analyze the situation.

' _You're the one with centuries of wisdom and all, so… should we retreat?'_

" _ **Don't act like a suck-up, it's unbefitting of you,**_ _"_ Kurama grunted. _"_ _ **And no, I doubt that a retreat is wise. Unless our estimations have been wrong, Akatsuki cannot have extracted my brethren from the recently captured jinchuriki. If we retreat, Pein would get the time to seal them. And once we are the only target left…**_ _"_

' _They'd just use that accursed statue against us.'_

" _ **That would indeed be a disadvantage to us. No, we should try to defeat Pein now. Even if you cannot defeat him by yourself, you should wait for reinforcements. Why did you think I advised you to cooperate with those villages? Besides, for whatever reason one of the members of Akatsuki has retreated, even if she defeated that Kazekage girl.**_ _"_

' _Konan? She defeated Temari?'_

" _ **Of course she would. But I thought you said that she was the most loyal of Pein's underlings…**_ _"_

' _She is… hmm… perhaps she was wounded. Perhaps there's something else in play. I don't know. Konan is a difficult person to fathom. I mean, the likes of Kisame and Hidan are easy enough to understand, but she… she joined Akatsuki for different reasons.'_

" _ **Be on your guard,**_ _"_ Kurama warned, before he fell silent again. The steady flow of chakra which the bijuu provided seemed to increase a little, much to Naruto's pleasant surprise. He knew he needed the chakra. Either that, or he needed to find a moment of peace to gather more energy from nature.

Naruto sighed. The whole plan revolved around defeating Pein. The real Pein. Naruto suspected that it was the one with the weird gravitational powers. "A bounty hunter knows the target before the target knows the hunter," was a lesson which Kakuzu had drilled into Naruto's head. "That is why we hold back our abilities while we can, so that we can keep the advantage even in case the enemy shows something unexpected."

A basic lesson that Naruto had taken to heart at first, yet forgotten in his anger. The loss of Ajisai had made him reckless. Kurama had been right that showing the Juichimen Kan'on in the middle of Konoha had been unwise. And now, at the start of this battle, Naruto had immediately shown his strongest ability as well. Meanwhile, Pein had hidden so much of his true ability that Naruto was forced to analyze the man's style during combat. If Kakuzu had still been alive, Naruto knew that he would've been scolded to no end.

' _I know, Kakuzu. Analysis is just as important a skill as any other offensive jutsu,'_ Naruto played along with his oddly nostalgic train of thought. Why had killing that man felt so empty? Kakuzu had killed Kakashi, killed Sakura, and ruined his life. And yet he had seen that stupid _proud_ expression when the man perished.

Perhaps it was what Ajisai once uttered: "hating a shinobi for executing a mission is just as pointless as hating a kunai for hitting its mark." Maybe that was why she had so easily accepted it when he told her that he came from Konoha, in spite of the things Konoha shinobi had done to the people of Ame. Kakuzu wasn't much different, in that contrast, as he only really cared about money. Money, which he usually obtained in the most efficient way possible. What happened to team seven was barely something personal to Kakuzu. Just another bounty, a mission issued by Zetsu- the real perpetrator.

Naruto told himself to keep calm, to keep analyzing Pein, to not allow himself to let hatred blind his senses. The gravitational Pein was less powerful than the times Naruto had met him before. Why? Was his chakra somehow spread over these bodies? If Kurama was correct, and these bodies were somehow controlled through those black rods, then it was likely that this assumption was correct. Regardless, their combined power was vast. Beyond what Naruto had expected. The varying, and otherworldly, abilities only made this even more against his favor.

"I gotta get back to the Kan'on," Naruto muttered. He couldn't allow the construct to be destroyed. The Juichimen Kan'on was too big an investment of chakra to surrender it easily. Yet, despite that fact, Naruto had still left a Moku Bunshin in control of the statue, using it as a decoy while he took down the unusual Pein that tried to approach the Pein which he had previously slain. Kurama had come with that suggestion, and although Naruto had to admit that it worked perfectly, as Pein had been caught completely off-guard, the risk of using the Kan'on as a mere distraction was one which he didn't like all too much.

The amounts of chakra poured in that single jutsu was enough to create a dozen wood dragons. And those things had a basic level of sentience, much unlike the Juichimen Kan'on, which needed to be controlled directly. ' _It really sucks that I can't let the Juichimen Kan'on function as an automaton yet.'_

" _ **That would require even more chakra, brat,**_ _"_ Kurama suddenly decided to lecture his prison. With nothing else to do, the bijuu at least found it entertaining to show the boy how little Naruto knew, compared to him. _"_ _ **Giving both form and content to matter is already a difficult thing. That you instinctively found ways to provide those dragons with a limited form of intelligence is nothing short of impressive, considering how it is a skill that approaches what the Rikudo Sennin did with the Banbutsu Sōzō no Jutsu (Creation of All Things Technique)**_ _"_

' _Which is common tongue for…?'_

" _ **Creating things out of nothing but your own chakra, you illiterate fool!**_ _"_

' _Which requires more chakra for animated objects,'_ Naruto nodded. That was something which he, even without the odd description, knew all too well. Adding a pre-programmed sort of consciousness to his jutsu increased the chakra cost.

" _ **Wait. There are two options you have here. One: you immediately go back to that statue of yours, and try to salvage it. I highly doubt that this Pein would not have found some weakness in it by now, or otherwise gathered the chakra to destroy it through some of his jutsu, but there's always a chance he didn't.**_ _"_

' _And two?'_

" _ **Refuel. You've wasted quite a lot of your reserves on that statue. I'd prefer that you didn't expend too much of my chakra yet, not while Pein hasn't shown all his cards. And without you taking the time to gather more chakra, your sage mode will not be lasting for that much longer. I'm sure that you can sense that. It is, however, a gamble: you'd risk losing that statue."**_

' _But if he's able to take down the Kan'on, it won't matter if I get back there right away.'_

" _ **Exactly. Because you'd be out of chakra, and ripe for the picking.**_ _"_

Let it be known that Kurama wasn't known for his limitless optimism, and even less for embellishing his words. Naruto, however, had gotten somewhat used to it by now. Even appreciated Kurama's blunt input, as the creature was far older and had much more experience than him - although not arguably wiser. In this case, Naruto easily accepted that Kurama was correct: sage mode was indeed running out. And while gathering energy was easy enough, he couldn't gather while expending it at the same. Up till now, he had covered that weakness by using his dragons or Kan'on to keep his enemies at a distance. But against Pein…

Pein wasn't an ordinary opponent. He wasn't an opponent he could afford to have weaknesses against. And worse, Pein wasn't even the opponent Naruto was willing to lay down his life for. Not unless he found a way to murder Zetsu beforehand, at least.

Stopping Pein was an essential part of stopping Akatsuki, but it had little to do with Naruto's personal quest for vengeance. Zetsu had killed Ajisai. Zetsu was responsible for ruining both his old and his new life. Zetsu had…

Naruto sighed.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. He had to keep his emotions in reign if he wanted to efficiently gather more chakra from nature. Submerging himself within the nigh-endless ocean of energy always carried risks. Being overwhelmed by the energy was not something he could afford right now. His own chakra reserves were vast, for a human. They paled in comparison to Kurama, on the other hand. But even the mightiest of the bijuu could not compare himself to the energy of the world itself.

If Kurama's ominous words were true, only the Juubi could do compare itself to such a vast power.

* * *

To say that Nagato was annoyed was an understatement. Gods were not supposed to bleed, and Naruto just inflicted a wound. Somehow, and Nagato wasn't sure how, the boy had destroyed Jigokudo. The Path capable of restoring the other Paths. And that while the boy was still fighting three other Paths at the same time.

Senjutsu was truly an annoyance. It was something Nagato already knew, having gauged the strength of his old sensei. But the senjutsu of which Jiraiya of the Sannin was capable paled in comparison to that which the boy showed. Perhaps it was because the boy, as a jinchuriki, had far greater chakra reserves of his own, thus making the boost in power from senjutsu exponentially greater as well.

"Oh well, it does not really matter now," Nagato spoke up, through Tendo. "My powers have returned, and I gathered enough chakra now. It is time to end this silly little struggle, and teach the boy the errors of his way…"

The boy was skilled, and it was irking Nagato that he turned out to be an even better sensor than him- judging by the fact that he had apparently taken out Jigokudo from such range. Rinnegan or no, the link to nature that Naruto's senjutsu offered was something beyond Nagato's abilities. In all aspects, Naruto had somehow surpassed himself within just this little amount of time. This Naruto was nothing like the one who had resided in Amegekure for a while.

Pain had made the boy grow.

The gigantic statue lunged at Tendo, its massive hand attempting to grab the animated body. While it was an attack from behind, the shared field of vision ensured that the Paths of Pein had practically no blind spots. As long as they were positioned well enough, at least. In the knowledge that Naruto was able to literally turn the environment in his advantage, Nagato had kept the three Paths close- constantly watching each other's back.

Tendo jumped up, and while he distorted the gravity around him, the body flew higher and higher. Almost as high as the giant bird which Chikushodo had summoned earlier, that was now overlooking the battlefields. The arrival of the Raikage had gone exactly as Zetsu had told: the man bought the deception, and relentlessly assaulted the old yet powerful Tsuchikage. At this rate the faster and younger Raikage would soon gain the upper hand. Along with the hundreds of white Zetsu, that would throw the battlefield in complete disarray. In spite of the numerical superiority of their enemies, Nagato hoped that Amegakure's forces would be able to exploit that advantage to the fullest.

Likewise, the Mizukage and her forces were quickly losing ground. With Tsunade locked in combat with Jiraiya and the Kazekage taken out of the equation as well, Nagato knew that defeating Naruto would be the tipping point. The boy's defeat would break the spirit of the alliance. And while Jigokudo was taken down, Nagato had access to all the skills of each of his paths- all he needed to do was restore his Six Paths of Pein, and he could wipe out this brittle 'shinobi alliance'.

Floating in the sky, Tendo looked down upon the frustrated boy who stood atop the wooden gargantuan. It was sturdy, extremely so. To a degree that even Shurado's rockets could not damage it badly enough for the boy not to be able to repair it. The statue was filled with a chakra which made Nagato hesitant of using Preta Path's ability- who would know what risks senjutsu chakra carried. Zetsu _had_ mentioned Naruto's moments of insanity, before he had managed to master senjutsu, even if the slippery spy had been silent about many other things.

But strength did not matter. Size did not matter. Chakra was irrelevant. He was Pein. He was god. He would teach the world the error of its ways. And the first lesson of pain would be to show that resistance was futile. The boy had taken down Jigokudo, but he would bleed for that transgression. He'd be an example for all to see…

"Shinra Tensei."

* * *

It was always a calming sensation. That detached feeling he had after opening himself for the energy of nature. He used to be unable to control it, losing himself in the boundless realm of nature. But now… now he was somewhat accustomed to it. That intimate embrace with the world itself, it granted him power far beyond the limitations of regular people. Although he knew that he would never have been able to harness so much of nature's energy if not for his own vast reserves as a jinchuriki.

He couldn't imagine how Hashirama, who had not been a jinchuriki, could have wielded such power. How a regular man could have become as strong as a jinchuriki- the very people who contained the strongest chakra creatures known in the world. The Senju must have been a freak of nature- no pun intended- if he could master senjutsu to the degrees which Madara had described.

" _ **Ready?**_ "

Naruto nodded in response to Kurama's question. Which was rather silly, now that Naruto thought about it. Kurama couldn't see him on the 'outside', could he? But since he was already rushing through the self-made forest, towards the clone he left battling the three Peins, Naruto figured that Kurama would have understood his intent. Talking, right now, just felt like a waste of time. Naruto knew what he had to do. Sure, he could've gone after the two Peins which kept themselves at a distance, gambling that those two were more fragile than the three which had gone on the offense, but Naruto didn't want to risk losing the Juichimen Kan'on.

Sadly, he was too late.

A fraction of a second after he noticed one of the Peins- he thought it was the one which had the gravitational powers- float up in the sky, Naruto was forced back by an absurdly powerful shockwave. A shockwave which cleaved right through the enormous statue. Its chest area was blown apart, as one of the other Paths of Pein launched a massive blast of chakra, as if firing some sort of overpowered chakra-cannon.

Naruto could only grind his teeth in frustration as he saw the Kan'on topple down. Moments after, his Moku Bunshin grew from the nearest tree, showing considerable damage. It was still able to talk, though.

"The Kan'on is powerful, but too slow. Even when I attacked them from their blind spots, they still somehow manage to dodge," the clone reported. "And while our opponent usually can't damage the Kan'on, Pein is different."

"I figured," Naruto sighed. "I'll have to change tactics, and use jutsu that are more subtle."

"And be a smaller target," the clone nodded haphazardly- most of its left arm and shoulder was missing, and its neck had sustained damage too. "The floating one with the gravitational powers was weakened for a while, but once he recharges he is easily the most dangerous. The other two cover for him- one can turn his body into a wide variety of weapons, including the cannon you just saw. The other… he paralyzed the Kan'on's arm. I think he did it by somehow absorbing the senjutsu chakra that was in the arm."

"Absorb, weaponry, and gravitation, got it. Anything else?"

The clone shrugged and disintegrated, no longer able to sustain its form. Naruto grimaced. While the Kyuubi had warned him about this, Naruto had hoped that Pein wasn't strong enough to actually do it. Naruto knew he had gotten lucky with destroying the first Pein, as it had been a body which Pein had sacrificed. The second one he had taken down due to deception. But how was he supposed to fight these three at the same time?

Taking one of Ajisai's sealing cards out of his sash, Naruto hoped that this distraction would work. It wasn't much of a surprise that the three Peins were standing back-to-back, each carefully keeping watch for Naruto to attack them. The clone's observation that the gravitation-Pein was vulnerable for a short while after he attacked didn't seem so strange anymore. If not for that weakness, Naruto was sure that Pein would have gone on the attack already. Still, it might be deception… as unlikely as that seemed. Pein was someone who seemed to be accustomed to overwhelming his enemies with the gifts of his rinnegan, and did not appear to be someone who often fought on the limits of his capacity.

Still… One mistake, Naruto knew that that was all it would take for him to lose against Pein.

" _ **Then all you've got to do is make no mistakes,**_ " Kurama remarked. " _ **He has the advantage in the wide range of abilities, but I think you possess more chakra, brat. Don't doubt yourself while you should be focused on striking that fake god down.**_ "

' _You're right. Thanks, Kurama.'_

The three Peins stood back-to-back, covering for each other, but that was exactly the problem of their current situation. Naruto threw the seeds, and the three dodged, thinking that the chakra-laden objects were some kind of bombs. Naruto grinned at the realization that they weren't completely wrong.

One of the Peins charged forward, the man's arm changing into some kind of bladed object- it was neither a sword nor a spear. Naruto dodged, but only just. So far, he had taken down two of the Peins due to deception, so it wasn't surprising that his next idea was based on the same concept. He didn't know whether or not they had realized that they had fought a clone, so it was reasonable to assume that they expected him to be injured or weakened. Naruto didn't know how much the rinnegan could see, as this tactic would fail against any Hyuga, but he thought that this spur-of-the-moment idea was worth the gamble.

The two other Peins fell back, the one of which the clone had suspected that he could absorb chakra covering for the noticeably weaker gravitational one. Both donning a confident smirk, just like the one which Naruto had dubbed the 'Swiss-army-knife-Pein', although none of the three felt as pleased as Naruto did at the discovery that their eyes couldn't see through him like the byukagan would- if that had been the case Pein would not have believed the injuries which Naruto faked.

Naruto dodged another swing, this time not being able to avoid the hidden blade that followed in the attack. The gash on his chest was somewhat painful, more painful than it should've been.

" _ **Already working on it,**_ " Kurama muttered lazily, as Naruto felt the chakra from the nine-tailed fox flow to the poisoned wound. Keeping the act up, Naruto moved somewhat slower than before the injury. Now he didn't bother to stay close. He jumped back, appearing to try to create distance. And Pein followed, only halting when it was already too late.

It was obvious to Naruto that his opponent could see chakra, including that which he put into the plants. Pein saw the plants grow around him, but shrugged them off when the turned out to be too weak to hold him down.

"Tying you down wasn't my purpose," Naruto smirked. The Habanero peppers which grew on the plant reached the end of their growth, and exploded into a biting cloud of dust. When Naruto had accidently stumbled on this jutsu, which he named the Akai Chishio no Habanero (Red-Hot Habanero), he had thought it could be effective against dojutsu.

It turned out it he was right.

Even if it was just a second of distraction, it was enough for Naruto. The other two Peins weren't really concerned by the pepper-cloud, as the dust just fell out of the air when it came to close to the stocky Pein- confirming the theory which Naruto's clone had regarding chakra absorption. But the Swiss-army-knife-Pein was blinded.

Naruto dropped the act, released the chakra he had been suppressing, and charged towards the man. With his connection to nature, Naruto didn't need his eyes to 'see' his environment. His eyes closed, not to fall into his own trap, Naruto propelled his own wood-encased fist. Plunging it straight into the piercing-ornamented face of the unlucky Pein.

The force of the impact broke the man. His head literally exploded to bits. It turned out he was completely machine-like, parts flying off him as he fell down, dead. Not that this Pein had been alive in the first place, but still. It was disabled now. One mistake, one mighty hit, and it was out of the equation. Much to the ire of the two remaining Peins.

"You're very strong…" the Pein with the gravitation powers spoke up. "No one has ever given Pein this much trouble before."

"No one else is as good as I am," Naruto smirked, creating a coffin around the fallen Pein and dragging it deeply under the ground. After the suspicions that one of the Peins could somehow restore the others, Naruto had decided to bury the ones he had beaten. He wasn't going to risk Pein still somehow having a trick up his sleeve that would enable him to revive the others again. With the two that were still hiding atop their supposedly invisible summon, Naruto had no idea what kind of crazy jutsu Pein was still holding back.

"Such impudence," Pein raised his arm, the flat of his hand pointing towards Naruto. "Bansho Ten'in! (Heavenly Attraction of All Creation)"

Wide-eyed, Naruto felt his body move towards Pein. With a simple command, however, he created wooden binds which stopped him from getting to close. Still, the pull remained, and the other Pein tried to exploit that moment.

"Tsutaurushi (Poison Ivy)," Naruto grunted, stomping with his foot into the muddy soil. Plants sprouted underneath the feet of both Peins, ending the pull as the gravitation-Pein evaded, enabling Naruto, in turn, to evade the attack from the chakra absorbing-Pein.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)," the latter Pein growled out- visibly agitated by Naruto's tactics.

True, Naruto knew that fire would be the greatest weakness to his wood-based techniques. Kakuzu had shown that on several occasions, often resulting in beatings for Naruto. But while he trained for himself, Naruto had no access to fire jutsu. He couldn't perform them by himself, nor could he ask Ajisai to use them against him. Sure, she had her explosive tags, but they were a far cry from a proper katon jutsu. Tags were, like the name implied, about the explosion, not about the fire.

So Naruto was taken aback when Pein's flames hit his poison ivy. The resulting explosion forced him back, leaving his arms, which he held up in a futile attempt to block the flames, badly burned. Being caught completely off-guard by the results of his own jutsu, Pein wasn't faring much better. Much worse, actually, as the damage done to Naruto was quickly healing. It was one of the advantages of being a jinchuriki. Though Naruto's other arm was made out of tissue that responded to his mokuton, making it easy to restore the damage. Aside from that, even while Naruto had been closer to the blast, senjutsu also made him far more durable than Pein.

Still, Gakido (Preta Path) was merely an animated corpse. Technically the body was brought back to life, even though it remained as soulless as any regular corpse. The main advantage: it felt no pain, even though its functionality was compromised to some degree.

"Senpo Mokuton: Kan'on Ryote (Sage Art Wood Release: Kanon's hands)," Naruto grunted, his teeth grinding while he tried to ignore the pain it caused of rushing so rapidly through the hand seals with his burned arms. He'd rather get stabbed than burned. Burns hurt like a bitch.

From the earth underneath its feet, Gakido got surrounded by the two massive hands of the Juichimon Kan'on. One hand to negate jutsu, the other to kill whomever it was holding, Naruto had not expected to pull out this jutsu already but knew that he couldn't keep holding this particular jutsu back- not while he was presented with this opportunity.

Now the five were diminished to one.

Naruto noticed that the other Pein had used its jutsu, however weak it still was, to shield itself from the explosion. It had been forced in the direction where the other two were. The two who, much to Naruto's displeasure, were approaching rapidly. Meanwhile, Naruto felt that the captured Pein was still not dead.

"Damn, the hands won't kill this bastard, will they?" he mumbled irritably.

" _ **Incapacitate him,**_ " Kurama urged. " _ **You do realize he hasn't been able to drain the chakra from those hands, right? So use another jutsu that suppresses the usage of chakra!**_ "

With a lack of time to figure out a way to kill a guy who negated any regular jutsu, Naruto could think of only one thing. With his hands in a ram seal, he shouted "Senpo: Myojinmon (Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates)," knowing that it was a technique strong enough to keep even Kurama down, and if Madara's notes had been correct it suppressed its target's usage of chakra as well. The hands of the Kan'on sank into the ground, but before Gakido could move a number of red torii fell down atop of him, binding him. These red wooden gates weren't as large as the ones Naruto had used against Kurama, who was a far larger target, but did their job nonetheless.

"And now to get rid of you completely," Naruto created a dome which enveloped both Pein and the dozen of torii. With everything wrapped up, Naruto forced it to sink into the ground, just like he had done with the other corpses of the Pein.

Glaring up, slightly winded from the rapid succession of jutsu, Naruto looking into the purple eyes of Pein.

"Impressive," Nagato stated with a voice calmer than his actual mood. "But this is where your futile struggle ends."

While Naruto didn't know that Nagato was the 'true' Pein yet, not even knowing the first thing about the man called Uzumaki Nagato, he had immediately realized that something was off about the man. The other Peins all had those black piercings, and orange hair. But this Pein had straight red hair. The man's pale skin and emaciated appearance made him look sickly. If not for the chakra he radiated, Naruto would have dismissed the man as being no threat. Although it wasn't just the chakra.

The man wore no Akatsuki cloak, revealing his thin body. Naruto could literally count his ribs. The man wore no cloak, however, because of the many black chakra rods that pierced his back. It made him walk a bit hunched, as if he needed to compensate for the weight.

"Your legs," Naruto frowned, sensing the familiar Zetsu-tissue. The same kind which covered half of his own body.

"Shinra Tensei," the gravitation-wielding Pein appeared next to Nagato, blasting Naruto into the woods behind, knocking the wind out of the younger Uzumaki. "Bansho Ten'in," Tendo followed with a second jutsu within a second, dragging Naruto back as if he was some kind of twisted human yo-yo. With fewer paths to control, Nagato could pour more of his chakra into Tendo, making it stronger and recover its powers at a faster rate.

Being thrown around, Naruto could not stop himself in time. He landed in front of the one he had dubbed 'skinny Pein', who proceeded to grab him by the neck. "And now it ends," Nagato announced calmly.

Naruto couldn't stay calm when he felt the chakra being drained from him, twisting around and punching Pein in the gut.

He got out of Pein's grip, but couldn't say he liked the amused smirk he saw.

His eyes widened in shock when Pein's arm transformed into some kind of cannon, charging a massive amount of chakra. Naruto ran, wanting to evade a blast like that, but the other Pein stood in his way. Another Shinra Tensei followed, pushing Naruto back. Straight into the line of Pein's Shura no Ko (Chakra Propulsion Cannon).

"Do you see now that you never truly stood a chance, Uzumaki Naruto?" Nagato drawled. "Surrender, and bring peace to this war-torn world."

"Never," Naruto spat out the blood that he had coughed up. The thunderous explosion had left him wounded, both his real flesh and his Zetsu-tissue. Not that that paused Naruto in any way. "Your false peace will only create a world of suffering and fear."

"Foolish 'till the bitter end," Nagato sighed. "I had hoped you to be better than this. All the lies, the hypocrisy, the endless bloodshed, it is all caused by the current system. It needs to be brought down. And you'll be the final step towards peace."

Nagato threw him back, and Tendo stabbed him with two rods. Naruto felt the foreign chakra seep into him, which felt even worse now that the rods were piercing his flesh. Two in his shoulders, two in his back, four in his legs, and then Tendo nailed down Naruto's arms.

"You fought valiantly, but ultimately your efforts were pointless," Nagato ignored the glare of the jinchuriki. "I will make you see the futility of your actions," he gestured behind him, as the last embodiment of Pein stepped into the clearing. She had left her summon behind, as Nagato longer felt the necessity of keeping her invisible. The battle was already won.

"You were destined to fail, Uzumaki Naruto," Chikushodo (Animal Path) spoke up. Her voice similar, and yet still so hauntingly different. Her appearance, with the orange hair and the rinnegan, had changed so much. And yet… and yet it was clearly her. The moment she stepped away from the trees she had been hiding behind, Naruto had seen it.

Ajisai.

"Do not worry, Uzumaki Naruto. You have caused me much damage," Nagato kept speaking through the animated corpse of Ajisai. "After the Kyuubi is extracted from your body, you shall join the girl. Reunited, you two will live on as part of the Six Paths of Pein."

Nagato had overwhelmed Naruto in terms of power, breaking him just when Naruto had gotten a shimmer of hope that he could defeat Pein. In his victory, Nagato wished to completely subjugate the rebellious jinchuriki. If Naruto's will was broken, it would be much easier to control him through the rods that paralyzed him.

To see the fate of his deceased girlfriend… Nagato knew that Konan would object to this tactic. But she too would come to understand that it was a necessity. She knew all too well that the world of shinobi was ruled by hatred. Mutual understanding was an impossibility, a foolish dream of a foolish man- a dream which Jiraiya had almost abandoned. Loss and despair would break the jinchuriki, after which the Kyuubi could be extracted. The chain of hatred would be broken, and then… if only it were for a short time, peace would return to the world.

"I see peace," 'Ajisai' whispered, seeing Naruto's tears.

A very, very poor choice of words.

Naruto's eyes widened, recalling her words. " _Love, happiness, those are things that barely exist in Ame. There's too much violence, too much sadness,"_ she had once confessed. She desired peace. A peaceful world which he had promised to give her. A world of peace in which they could grow old together, without sadness, without fear- a world of love and happiness. Naruto could never forget about her. How they had made love. How they had kissed and hugged. The words they had spoken, the promises they had made. He was all too aware of the two rings he wore, of his sash, the tangible proof of their time together. All those dreams…

Pein had taken those dreams, and shattered them.

The chakra receivers, embedded in Naruto's flesh, shattered along with them.

The world around him shriveled, cowering in his rage. Trees withered and died. All the vegetation, all life that sprouted from the soil around him, it all perished. It no longer mattered. Nothing mattered. He dove deeper into the ocean of nature's energy than he had ever done before, abandoning his 'self' completely, surrendering to the madness. The energy of nature, of the Kyuubi, of himself, it twisted and amalgamated into a sickening and dreadful chakra. With a roar, Naruto threw Tendo aside. With a roar, he released the chakra he drew from the world around him, without any regard for his wellbeing, or that of anything around him.

Reckless rage brought by a pain even greater than that which he had felt when losing her. These insults, this horrible act of desecration, Naruto would never forgive it, never forget it, not until he drew his final breath. All throughout Amegakure, across the entire battlefield, people cowered as the repulsive _empty_ presence washed over them. A chakra which even Samehada refused to absorb.

The world held its breath, and its people could only follow accordingly. In fear, in despair, they would await what the rage of the strongest jinchuriki would bring to their world. Pein had broken the will of Uzumaki Naruto, but Kunomori rose up.

And in his wake he would leave a dead world; an empty forest, devoid of all hope and life.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

You don't break a chain of hatred by forging another link, Nagato…

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	19. Bleak

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Nineteen**

 **Bleak**

* * *

" _And now...farewell to kindness, humanity and gratitude. I have substituted myself for Providence in rewarding the good; may the God of vengeance now yield me His place to punish the wicked."_

― Alexandre Dumas

* * *

"Ugh, what the hell? What kind of booze did I drink to get such a terrible hangover?" he blinked, attempting to make sense of the blurry images which his eyes sent to his brains.

"…it was not alcohol," a voice replied.

"You're shitting me," he grumbled back, feeling wobbly on his legs. The giant headache told him a different story. Perhaps that's why he only froze up after seconds had passed. "Tsunade?" he couldn't help but mutter.

"Yes, Jiraiya, it's me."

"Did it work?" a second, younger, female voice sounded weakly.

"Yes Ino, it worked. You've made me proud," Tsunade smiled warmly at the injured Yamanaka.

Jiraiya shook his head, trying to make sense of the situation. Bit by bit, his sight returned to him. What he saw confused him. It looked like a major battle had just happened. His clothes were a mess as well. Tsunade looked like hell, with a rather big wound on her shoulder which was still in the process of healing. A wound that looked far too much like the sort that his Rasengan inflicted.

"Don't tell me… I did that?" the toad sage couldn't believe it. "Is this some sort of crazy dream?" he muttered, after his attempt to break the supposed genjutsu failed.

"It's not an illusion, dream, or alcohol induced nightmare. Believe me, I've checked the situation on all three accounts," Tsunade turned to her old teammate. "Are you free now?"

"Free? What do you mean, _free_?"

"That black rod you had in your chest, it acted as some kind of chakra receiver," the Senju explained patiently. "You nearly killed Ino when she destroyed the darn thing."

"I… Nagato," Jiraiya cringed when the most recent of his memories returned to him. The discussion with Nagato, before his former student decided to show his true colors, about the possibility of… "Naruto, is it true that he's still alive?" Jiraiya demanded. That his old students had turned into something that had to be stopped was a matter of priority, but nothing was more important that the fate of Minato's boy, Jiraiya's godson.

"Naruto has changed, but he is still alive," Tsunade frowned, confused by the new name. "Surely you knew, since you were a part of Akatsuki just like he was. And who is this 'Nagato'?"

"I've never met Kūnomori, nor did I ever meet any of the other members. Me being a part of the organization was supposed to be a secret," Jiraiya confessed. "Nagato… he didn't completely trust Akatsuki. So he kept me in reserve, kept my connections to him and Konan a secret from all the others, while I acted as a spy for him. He doesn't trust Zetsu."

"Why did you join them, Jiraiya-sama?" Ino decided to ask, ignoring the uneasy look on Tsunade's face.

"Losing someone dear to you is bad enough, but being blamed that you are responsible for that death is even worse," Jiraiya said bluntly. "It was a coincidence that I met Konan, and I learned that Nagato was still alive as well. Those two being my old students, they were the only real bonds I still had left. It is why I decided to help them."

"Jiraiya, I'm-"

"Sorry, yeah, I know you'd say that," Jiraiya said gruffly. "You always mess up, and apologize later, Tsunade. But let's not waste time on living in the past. We've both done that for too long. The important thing right now is: where is Naruto? While I can see some merit in Nagato's plans to destroy the shinobi system, I'm not willing to sacrifice Naruto for that."

"Naruto is fighting Pein," Ino grimaced. Whether it was because of the pain or the fact that she realized she had subconsciously dropped the suffix was something even she couldn't tell. "He'll need our help."

"You two should stay here and heal up," Jiraiya turned towards the direction where he could feel an enormous amount of foul chakra. "Whether he truly has mokuton or not, Nagato is too powerful. Even with my full power, I doubt I can defeat him."

"You aren't going anywhere, Jiraiya," Tsunade commanded, grabbing the seemingly older man by his arm. "I'm going to heal you first. You feel the magnitude of the brat's chakra just as well as I do. Whatever this Pein, Nagato, or whatever his name is, is able of doing: if Naruto uses this much chakra even we can't afford to just randomly jump into their battle."

"He uses senjutsu, Tsunade… but Nagato has the rinnegan dōjutsu. This is no joke. There is no time to waste, or we'd risk losing everything," Jiraiya looked her in the eye. "And don't try to pull rank on me. I'm done with that crap."

* * *

Nagato was not sure what he was supposed to think. He had defeated the jinchūriki. He had bound the boy with his chakra receivers, completely overpowering the boy's chakra. Then he had seen the change, first-hand. The pain, the rage, but above it all: the love. The all-consuming desire for someone else. The boy's already unstable mind had collapsed yet had not broken. That love caused the boy such pain that its power transcended that of the bindings which Nagato had created.

He had seen how the boy stood up, oozing with a chakra completely unlike that which he had possessed before. No longer filled with life, no longer a spreading, giving power, it now turned into a maelstrom that consumed all energy around him. The power had spiked, exploding outward, after which all the trees, all the plants, everything perished around them.

It did not take a genius to realize that the boy had become a great danger now. A true challenge, even for someone as powerful as Nagato.

Standing between Yahiko, the body that wielded the powers of his Deva Path, and Ajisai, the body that wielded the powers of his Animal Path, Nagato decided to take a more defensive approach. To see what the boy would be capable of now.

* * *

His skin had paled. Literally turned white. It felt odd, Naruto realized, as if it was a bit scale-like, thicker than usual. Had the Zetsu-tissue from Tobi somehow spread itself? Naruto couldn't tell. Nor could he really care. It had fixed his injuries, so if nothing else he was glad that it had done this. He felt detached, empty and void of all by the all-encompassing grief he felt.

Ajisai had died, killed by Zetsu, and then… then Pein had turned her into one of his abominations. Idly, some part of his mind noted that the energy of nature felt rawer, more direct, than it usually did. Almost as if nature itself understood his pain, understood his rage, and provided him with the power he needed. Or was it his rage that subconsciously caused him to filter the energy until only this remained?

Again, Naruto could not find himself to care. Looking at his enemy, Naruto only felt one desire. The desire to murder Pein.

Any other jinchūriki would have sprouted a cloak of chakra, with tails worth of chakra, and have gone on an uncontrollable rampage. But the mokuton kekkei genkai changed everything that was supposed to be normal.

With all trees withered, Naruto found another target to push his chakra into. Several facts suddenly connected in his mind. The pride Pein had in his power. The lessons Kakuzu had beaten into Naruto's skull about hunting proud targets. Then there were Pein's abilities: Banshō Ten'in and Shinra Tensei. And lastly, an old Buddhist idiom that Naruto had once read. A perfect way to taunt his proud target, even if the meaning completely fit his own purposes.

"Shinra Banshō," Naruto spoke coldly. Shinra Banshō translated literally in 'All-Covering Forests and Ten Thousand Things', but it was the Buddhist idiom related to the term that pointed at the meanings 'all of nature' and 'all of creation'. The latter fitted Pein more, with his rinnegan. But the former… that was Naruto's area.

Shinra Banshō, all-covering forests and ten thousand things. It was a perfect fit. Because what he used did indeed cover forests completely, did indeed cover objects beyond count. It was everywhere, in some form or the other. In spores, in yeasts, in molds, in mushrooms, it was everything. Once before he had experimented, trying to manipulate these tiny life forms through his connection to nature, yet at the time he had failed.

Back then the result had been relatively innocent. It had caused skin irritation and had dismantled clothes, but… back then Naruto did not have access to these amounts of the Kyūbi's chakra. Kurama's chakra already had a corrosive and aggressive quality to it, but combined with the already corrosive fungi it became truly devastating.

He protected himself with a dense layer of chakra that had the same qualities as the chakra that empowered the Shinra Banshō, thus neutralizing it. But the cloud which spread through the area, it moved too quickly and spread too fast for Pein to avoid it.

The one which Naruto suspected to be the 'real' Pein absorbed the chakra behind the jutsu, escaping the threat. The one which had formerly been Ajisai disappeared in a cloud of smoke, seemingly reverse-summoning herself to another location. But the one with the gravitational powers… Pein's favorite path, the animated corpse of his best friend, Yahiko…

There was nothing to protect it from Naruto's wrath. The cloud covered the Deva Path, and its Shinra Tensei was but a delay for the inevitable. The corrosive cloud bit into Tendō's flesh, eating it away, exposing its bones to the bare eye. The real Pein shouted in anger, but was powerless to prevent his friend's body from being reduced to little more than dust.

Much like everything else around Naruto was turned to dust. Shinra Banshō made no distinction: everything other than the chakra that empowered it was merely fuel to feed the ravenous micro-organisms within the cloud.

While he would not say it out loud, Naruto felt some shreds of relief in the knowledge that Ajisai's corpse wasn't reduced to nothingness. If possible, he wanted to give her a proper burial. And lay beside her once his task was done. He'd create the world of peace which he had promised her, before he'd join her in the afterlife.

Seeing that Shinra Banshō was not going to harm the real Pein, Naruto ended the jutsu and switched to the next. The jutsu had done its job, both in its effects and the taunting name, at aggravating Pein.

* * *

Nothing went as it was supposed to go. The plan was to defeat Amegakure, to force Akatsuki out of their hidey-hole. Uzumaki Naruto, the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi, was their target. They'd go after him, she knew. And from what she heard through the Yamanaka which had been assigned to her squad, that fight had already commenced a little while ago. But overrunning the defensive lines of the Ame forces had not gone as smoothly as she had hoped. Then again, she already had concluded that nothing in this little war went as it was supposed to.

The moment of the five strongest hidden villages uniting against a common threat was nothing short of unique. A once in a lifetime opportunity. She honestly hoped this would not be the end of that alliance, although she wasn't naïve enough to presume that the alliance would last after the common threat had been removed. Still, there was nothing wrong with a little hope, was there? She had really hoped this alliance could improve the relations between their villages on a more permanent basis.

At least, what would be left of the allies. The allied forces were in complete confusion due to all the 'fake' shinobi that were attacking randomly. Friends turned on each other, out of nothing but the suspicion that the other might be one of those fakes. Sadly, only a small percentage of those who perished reverted to the white plant-like creatures responsible for the chaos.

What was worse, however, was that if friends could be turned into enemies… there was no shortage of grudges between the five villages. No shortage of personal vendettas, resulting of the varying missions which the village undertook to weaken the other villages- even in time of peace. Not that the current peace was truly peaceful anyway. From the shadows they still fought, even though they carefully avoided incidents that could trigger open war. It was a status quo which would be continued as long as no single village truly had the upper hand. In the current chaos, however, that status quo was all too easily forgotten.

She had already executed several shinobi of her own village that had been foolish enough to fight an ally. Not that she had the overall command, but she had enough authority to issue the orders necessary to protect the alliance against the foolishness of her own village's troops.

Sadly, her efforts had mostly been in vain. Iwa, Kiri, Suna, and Konoha fought against Amegakure, maintaining some sort of unified front even though their plant-like enemy, she thought Naruto had identified him as 'Zetsu', disrupted everything. But Kumogakure was a wholly different story. Shortly after Zetsu began his devilish work, a small contingent of Kumo shinobi, no more than a dozen men and women, struck the Iwa forces in the flank.

Led by the Raikage himself, none was able to halt their advance. None but her grandfather, whose jutsu had taken out three Kumo shinobi in one strike. Ay, the Raikage, had escaped it due to his inhuman speed, but his bodyguards had not been so lucky. At that point Ōnoki had ordered his granddaughter to stay out of his fight, and focus her efforts on killing the remainder of the 'Kumogakure traitors'.

While he had been seemingly easy-going and mellow, the white-haired and dark-skinned man called Darui had proven himself to be a very annoying enemy. Even when all his allies had fallen to Iwa hands, it had taken Kurotsuchi quite some effort to turn the man into the smoldering pile of lava which he was now. Too many good shinobi and kunoichi had lost their lives in this pointless skirmish. A skirmish of which the reason was a complete mystery to her: why would they believe that Iwagakure had taken the Hachibi, when all knew that Akatsuki had stolen Kumo's jinchūriki? It made no sense at all. Kurotsuchi had even been surprised to see that the Kumo nin hadn't been Zetsu's clones…

Returning to where she had left her grandfather, Kurotsuchi intended to see how she could aid him. While he was old, and suffered from a back problem, Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, was a formidable shinobi. Far stronger than Kurotsuchi knew herself to be. But if she could sufficiently impress him, perhaps he'd let her take over his hat.

Everyone knew that it wouldn't hurt to have a little change in leadership in Iwagakure, if only to break their old-and-inflexible-as-stone-itself traditions. At least, the younger generation, to which Kurotsuchi belonged, thought so. Ōnoki's generation had quite different views, and rather stuck to their current position until their bones would finally turn to dust.

The sight of the one-armed Raikage made the young woman smile viciously. The fool had chosen to attack them, rather than give the aid he promised. He deserved no less. The smirk just as quickly left her face, however, when she saw a small bundle of blooded cloth which looked far too much like…

"G-gramps?" Kurotsuchi whispered. "No… you… you can't-"

She was cut short when the sweating and heaving Raikage turned and tried to attack her. The man was fast, proving that his claim to the title of being the fastest shinobi alive was no idle boast. Kurotsuchi was not alone, however. Perhaps he wasn't as fast as the Raikage had he been in full health, but in the man's current injured and worn condition Akatsuchi was more than able to get a grip on the man's arm.

The Raikage was no tiny man, but the large and imposing Akatsuchi towered over him. His dark eyes burned with a fury which Kurotsuchi had never seen before in the usually so jovial and cheerful man. Yet, she knew how fiercely loyal the man was to her grandfather- to the point where he had earned the title of being the Tsuchikage's "shield", even though he was barely older than she was. The Raikage may have had the elemental advantage, with earth being weak to lightning, but Akatsuchi was too enraged to care about something as petty as the burns on his massive stone-clad hands.

If the Raikage was known as the fastest shinobi alive, Kurotsuchi suspected that her friend Akatsuchi could very well claim the title of being the physically strongest shinobi alive. His hold on the Raikage was unwavering. His fist descending on the man who murdered her grandfather was like a mountain falling from the skies. With one thunderous blow, the citizen of stone brought the ruler of the clouds to his knees.

"Kurotsuchi, now!" he barked out.

Rabbit, ox, dog, snake; never in her eighteen years of life had she gone through these hand seals as swiftly as she did now. The realization that he grandfather had died spurred her to new heights. Superheated and condensed, she spat out quicklime at her target.

"Yōton: Sekkaigyō no Jutsu (Lava Release: Quicklime Congealing Technique)," she hissed. It encased the Raikage, scorching his skin, but burning the man had not been her primary objective. While she avoided hitting her teammate with the quicklime, the Raikage was mostly covered with the quickly hardening material. This was all part of the plan. No hand seals were needed, no words were wasted, she simply lunged at the bulking man and engulfed him in flames- forcing Akatsuchi to let go of the man at the last possible moment.

Fast as he was, Ay still got out alive. Had Kurotsuchi taken the time to use a water jutsu to completely cool down the lime, he would have been dead. Not that he was in a much better state right now. His dark skin showed blisters, burns covered most of his body. The proud leader of Kumogakure fell to his knee, gasping, spitting out blood. Old Ōnoki had been an extremely experienced opponent, the worst enemy for the rash Raikage, even though the old Tsuchikage still had his moments of disorientation ever since he had been targeted by Danzō's sharingan. The latter had proven to be a costly distraction. Speed had determined the outcome of the battle, but still it had cost the Raikage. His arm had been caught in one of the disintegrating attacks. Now, the old man's granddaughter continued Ōnoki's work.

Before he could recover, Ay realized that Kurotsuchi stood in front of him. Ay, desperate to avenge the brother he mistakenly believed to have been slain by Iwa's forces, could do little to avoid the inevitable. He lacked the stamina and the chakra to activate his lightning shroud one final time. His injuries, both external and internal, were too grave. The last thing which the Yondaime Raikage of Kumogakure saw was the kunai descending to his skull.

Ironic, how vengeance ended his quest for vengeance.

* * *

Shinra Banshō. It was a taunt that didn't escape Nagato's notice. Vexing as it was, it paled in comparison to what the jutsu did. Yahiko, the friend that had died due to the treasonous actions of Hanzō and Danzō, the friend he had lost all those years ago, it felt as if he just now lost him again. Five out of six paths had been lost. One of them had been sealed and buried, one of them was lost and not even Nagato knew what happened to it, and the others… destroyed and out of his reach. Possessing the powers of the Naraka Path changed nothing about his current situation.

"Shinra Tensei," Nagato growled. The boy was far more trouble than he ever expected him to be. It wasn't like the boy was a properly trained jinchūriki, like the jinchūriki of the Rokubi. And that jinchūriki had fallen without even permanently destroying a single path. Had he been overconfident? Nagato didn't think he had. And even if he had not, who would have been there to help him against such an enemy?

Konan held a crippling disadvantage, with Naruto seemingly able to completely counter her paper ('dead wood', the boy had called it). Zetsu was too weak. Kisame? Samehada gave the swordsman a fearsome advantage against any truly strong opponent, but Nagato didn't delude himself into thinking that was enough. As the boy was right now, Kisame would have been slaughtered within minutes. That left only his old sensei. But Jiraiya had been needed in order to stop the Hokage from interfering.

For the first time since years Nagato considered the necessity of backup. But there wasn't anyone able, or trustworthy, available. Nagato tried to estimate how durable these new legs were. Well, not that they were completely new, but the Zetsu-like material which encased his normally crippled legs enabled him to walk. He wasn't as fast and nimble as he wished he was, but with the abilities that he had at his disposal Nagato didn't truly need to dodge any jutsu. He could simply absorb or repel anything. And yet…

The trees which the boy grew weren't green, weren't full of life as they had been before. They were grey and dead, filled with thorns that were dripping with some kind of venom- the sorts of which Nagato rather would not find out what they did. His body was, in spite of everything, still rather frail.

In hindsight it had been a terrible decision to humiliate the boy by showing him his late girlfriend's corpse. It had nearly broken his resolve at first, but something about what Chikushōdō had said had caused the jinchūriki to lose himself in this rage. A last stand which was as vexing as it was impressive. Never had Nagato imagined anyone to possess these quantities of chakra- it was simply unfathomable that a human body could tolerate the strain of such a burden.

He scowled when Naruto launched a particularly massive attack, while Nagato found himself completely surrounded by the thorn-wearing dead trees. The timing had been flawless, too soon after the previous usage for Nagato to resort to Shinra Tensei. Likewise, the amount of wood was simply too vast to counter with the abilities of the Preta path. Not all of the mass could be absorbed fast enough.

Still… whatever the boy threw at him, Nagato couldn't think of it as anything less than utterly pointless.

* * *

In a cloud of smoke his enemy escaped from the trap which Naruto had constructed. These woods, which he called the Shin-rin (Lifeless Forest), were dangerous. Even if someone like Pein must have seen the danger of the thorns, it would prove difficult to avoid them. But it was unexpected that he could just remove himself from that spot. Now that Naruto thought about it, Ajisai's body had shown a similar ability when it escaped the Shinra Banshō clouds.

He scowled angrily. How could he forget that the real Pein possessed all these abilities? That should have been obvious at this point. Then again, he was too angry to really think things through. So he just tore through the dead forest that he had just spawned, rushing to the place where he felt Pein's chakra signature.

Only to find the hunched man throw some kind of black ball of chakra into the sky.

"Chibaku Tensei," Pein panted, hands clasped together and visibly exerting himself.

The tiny black orb of chakra floated high, but suddenly exerted a tremendous amount of chakra. A pull that tore open the earth underneath Naruto's feet, and pretty much everywhere else as well. Huge chunks of rock and the muddy soil of Ame flew towards the tiny orb.

* * *

Inoichi stared up in the sky, much like the rest of the shinobi gathered on and around the battlefield. He was in the same state of disbelief as the appalled civilians back at camp that lay just outside the warzone.

Ninjutsu could take many shapes, depending on the skill and power of the user. While he wasn't exactly lacking in terms of experience, and had seen his fair share of insane ninjutsu, Inoichi had never dreamt this could happen. This… something like this shouldn't be possible.

The Yamanaka, just like the flabbergasted shinobi around him, stared up to the mass of stone which was shaping. A new moon was created.

"Is this the power of Akatsuki?" Inoichi felt worried. Not for himself, but for his daughter. She was in that area, and currently not responding to his attempts to contact her. He could sense Naruto's overwhelming power, although it had become dark and vile- undoubtedly because the boy was tapping into the chakra of the Kyūbi.

Still… what could even he do against a man capable of creating a new moon?

* * *

There were times when things went according to plan, and there were times like these: when everything went to shit. He knew better than anyone that this fight would be a difficult one. The raw advantage in terms of chakra capacity held little meaning against an opponent who could wield the rinnegan to such a degree. Still, that was not why his situation had changed into a disaster.

No… the boy had seen what the fool who called himself Pein had done to the boy's mate. And as if that hadn't been enough, the animated corpse of the girl had spoken words all too similar to those which she had spoken in life. The memory had warped the boy's mind into state which even the most wrathful of the bijū would pause at. Rinnegan was bad, but mokuton was perhaps even worse to them.

And that resulted in the current mess.

Kurama, the nine tailed bijū, the one who boasted to be the greatest and most powerful of his brethren, had been reduced to nothing but a slave. And the worst of it all was that the boy didn't even consciously cause this. In his rage, the brat had simply drained his surroundings from energy, and had subconsciously also targeted Kurama. Imprisoned, surrounded by trees, the monstrous fox had no way to escape. More humiliating: his attempts at resisting the chakra-drain had resulting in absolutely nothing.

And still he couldn't get himself to hate the brat for it.

Had the brat not been hurt in such a despicable way, he would have continued to cooperate with Kurama. There wasn't much deceit in the boy, in spite of all his distrust. Kurama, after all, had first-row seats to everything which happened within the boy's mind. The way the boy was lost in his own pain and anger, to a point beyond all reason. Understanding what drove the boy, however, didn't make the current situation any better.

The fox, entangled in so many tree roots that his orange fur was barely visible at this point, could only watch in horror as the boy was trapped in the miniature moon which the rinnegan-wielder created with his Chibaku Tensei.

" **Damn… I guess this is the point when those humans say that there is nothing left to lose** ," Kurama spat bitterly.

* * *

Spitting out blood, while feeling the same liquid running from his nostrils as well, Nagato knew that this jutsu was pushing his body past its limits. The inert Chikushōdō had slumped down, as Nagato stopped emitting chakra to it, needing every bit of it to make the Chibaku Tensei as powerful as he could.

This jutsu was his trump card, but in any other situation he would have avoided using it. It put too much of a strain on him. The damage to his body would definitely mean that the day of his death was pulled forward significantly, supposed that he wouldn't die at the boy's hands or in the process of using the Gedō Mazō to complete his plans for world peace. This thin and sickly-looking body would reach the end of its lifespan sooner rather than later.

However, the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yōko was not the sort of opponent against whom he could afford to hold back this jutsu. Nagato could see that the boy's reserves were slinking with each jutsu, yet at the current rate the boy would still outlast him. This forced Nagato's hand. Nagato knew that his victory was inevitable, he knew it from the very moment this battle started, but the cost of the victory was unexpectedly high. Losing so many of the paths, being forced to use Chibaku Tensei, nothing really went as he had planned it.

"Just like I never planned for you to betray me," Nagato added tersely, using the ability of Asura Path to grow an extra set of arms. Arms which caught the sennin before he could plunge the spiraling orb of chakra in Nagato's back. "Do you hate me, Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Nagato…"

"Why do you people keep struggling against the inevitable?"

"Because we'd rather die than see the people we care about suffer, Nagato," Jiraiya grunted, trying to free himself from the iron grips of the mechanical arms.

"Care… love creates bonds, which in turn cause suffering when they are broken," Nagato nodded toward the mass of earth and stone in which he had sealed the jinchūriki. "He loved that girl to the point that he lost his mind when he learned about her fate. The power of his rage was impressive, but ultimately his rage only led to his own downfall. Blinded by his _love_ , he walked straight into the range of the Chibaku Tensei."

"…have you truly forgotten why you took control of Akatsuki after Yahiko perished?" Jiraiya asked with a tone of bitter disappointment. "I should have seen this sooner. I should have tried to help you."

"Help?" Nagato gave a humorless chuckle. "Where was _help_ when Konoha shinobi butchered my family, sensei? Where was _help_ when Danzō and Hanzō betrayed us, and Yahiko died? No, sensei… we do not get help in this world. Power is necessary to defend oneself in this world. At the same time, power is what drives this accursed system, what continues all the conflicts and wars. _That_ is why I continued Akatsuki."

"And in the process you began to oppose everything Yahiko stood for," Jiraiya chocked when Nagato's hand squeezed his throat shut.

"It seems like you fail to understand the lesson which pain teaches."

"Do try to lecture me on that," Jiraiya snarled. In hindsight he wished he had let Tsunade heal him first, rather than stubbornly rushing off on his own. "Rasen-"

"Hush," with a flick of his wrist Nagato slapped the half-baked Rasengan away. With Chibaku Tensei having come to its completion, with the jinchūriki sealed inside, there was no reason why he couldn't use his real arms anymore. "Now… let's see what your pitiful life has taught you," Nagato's hand rested atop Jiraiya's head.

Naruto's performance with senjutsu had made Nagato curious to learn more about it, and who better to extract such knowledge from than a sennin like Jiraiya?

* * *

He felt tired. The world had gone dark. Stones and earth were pressing against him with a force that made his current position rather uncomfortable. Worse, he could barely move to make himself a bit more comfortable. Was this it? Was this all he amounted to? Was everything that happened, going to end in such a shitty way?

He looked back at the split life he had led. A relatively happy and innocent childhood, growing up amidst the Yamanaka clan, nearly inseparable from Ino, the worst aspect about those years was the fact that he was a jinchūriki. The cold looks, the- if they got the chance- shop owners who forced him either to pay absurd prices or threw him out, the kids who thought they could pick on him because the adults said he was an abomination… those bad aspects paled in comparison to the warmth and love from the Yamanaka. At that time he had needed no one's acknowledgement aside from Ino's.

All that had come crashing down when his team had been slaughtered. All because they were after him, the jinchūriki, the child with such vast amounts of yang chakra that Zetsu wished to use him for his accursed schemes. That's when the regrets had started to pile up. The bounties which he had collected, like the unfortunate Yamanaka Kyoami, were fresh in his mind. Though there were things that hurt deeper.

Obviously, the first person who came to mind was Ajisai. Naruto blamed himself. Blamed himself for loving her, and the danger it had put her in. Blamed himself for not having taken her along, and somehow find a way to smuggle her out of Ame. She shouldn't have died. He should've been there to protect her.

Perhaps that was the price he needed to pay for the sins he committed. He hadn't been able to convince Guren to abandon her foolish loyalties, nor had he truly pressed her to do so. Her fate, becoming Orochimaru's host, had practically been his fault. Though, he couldn't feel nearly as much guilt about that as he did about Fū's death. The poor jinchūriki had suffered a life worse than his, and he had killed her. He had killed her because he followed Akatsuki, both out of free will and by force. Her death was even more painful to him because he had abandoned Akatsuki so shortly after the Nanabi had been extracted from her. Her death weighed heavily on his conscience. Naruto knew that, at some level, everything that had happened had been influenced by others. But not Fū. Capturing Fū, leading her to her death, it had been his decision.

Regrets…

Ajisai, Fū, Guren, and even his old team came to mind. People who died because of him. Though not all suffering ended in death. He had forgotten his old life, and who knew how badly he had hurt Ino because of it? Forgetting the girl he had spent most of his life with, whom he had just called his 'girlfriend' before that fated day of his disappearance, it was one of the things he hated Zetsu most for. Ino had not deserved to suffer such pain and loss. And now… now that he remembered he had already become cursed, tainted by his wrongdoings. He had lost Ajisai, how was he supposed to know what to think about Ino? How was he supposed to just pretend like he was his old self? He couldn't. He didn't want to, either. Ino was better than that, she deserved someone in her life who wasn't as horrible as he was. She deserved to be loved by someone free of sin.

After all, had it not been for the promise he had made to Kushina, he knew he would have killed Ino at the moment he had first seen her, wrongfully blaming her for Ajisai's death. That was another one of his regrets, and a desire which bubbled up in his mind to apologize to her, even though he knew that it was futile to think such things now that he knew he was so close to his death. Still, he wished he could have talked to his mother a bit more.

' _Huh. I sound like I've completely giving up already,'_ Naruto idly thought to himself. This lethargic feeling which he couldn't shake off made him indifferent about the whole situation. He knew he was trapped. He knew that if Pein had his way, Kurama would be sealed into that damnable statue, throwing the world into an unprecedented state of chaos and death. That stood completely at odds with the promises which he had made to Ajisai, but also with those he made to his mother.

" _Never give up, Naruto. Never lose hope. You are stronger than that… don't give in to this despair!"_ That was what Kushina had told him. And yet he had giving up. And why not? Death wasn't something Naruto feared. In fact, it was rather something he longed for. He'd see Kushina again, after he would die. Would he meet his father as well? Naruto hoped so. He really did. Although there were some complications in that matter, though nothing on which he could act at this very moment. Still, he'd have a chance he'd meet his parents again! And once he was in the afterlife, he would see Ajisai again as well.

' _Or is she stranded here, in the world of the living, because of what Pein did to her?_ '

The macabre thought struck in his mind like a bolt of lightning. It banished all thoughts of dying and 'living' a peaceful existence in the hereafter. How could he think of rest, when Ajisai might still be suffering? He could he lull himself into this false tranquility, when her body was still used as one of the Paths of Pein? Beyond that: he had made promises! And he would never go back on his word!

Despair, loss, sorrow… those things were irrelevant. Even if it was merely a possibility, a wild theory; he could not enter the afterlife with the idea of his precious people not being safe. How could he give in to those foolish emotions? Something within him broke. He didn't even realize that it had been an extremely complex and subtle illusion, as Pein had exploited Naruto's berserker state of mind.

Naruto had not just stepped into a trap by walking into the range of the Chibaku Tensei. No, with Chikushōdō still at his disposal, Pein had wanted to be completely sure that his jutsu would capture Naruto. There had been no excuses, no room left to underestimate the jinchūriki. Pressed toward the artificial center of gravity, entombed within vast amounts of rock and earth, trapping Naruto within a genjutsu was overkill.

Or so Pein thought.

* * *

"So that is the truth behind the boy… who would have known," Nagato mumbled, more to himself than to the old man whom he held in his hand. "Being the Yondaime's son definitely explains why he turned out to be such an annoyance. And why you reacted so irrationally when you heard rumors about his survival, sensei."

Jiraiya wasn't able to do much more than glare back defiantly. With the grip on the man's soul, however, Nagato knew very well what his old teacher felt.

"Very well, it's not as if I gave you no chance to join us. Goodbye, sensei," Nagato had already drained most of Jiraiya's chakra, so the only thing which now helped the man… his indomitable will. Although Nagato realized that he wouldn't have had as much trouble dragging on the man's soul if he hadn't been so exhausted.

A loud cracking sound was the first thing that made Nagato pause.

Then the rocks started to fall. Debris fell from the heavens, wrecking the already torn-up soil even further. That which had been pulled out by Nagato's jutsu now fell. Struck with a sense of dread, Nagato's rinnegan slowly followed the falling soil, all the way up to the source. His ripple-patterned eyes widened when he saw a massive wooden arm stick out of the artificial mini-moon which he had made with Chibaku Tensei.

Then the chakra exploded, just as the mini-moon exploded. The wooden Buddha-like gargantuan showed itself, its right hand crushing the core of the Chibaku Tensei. As the jutsu struggled to continue its existence, so did it strain Nagato. Spitting out blood, his vision blurring from the exhaustion, Nagato was forced to end the jutsu.

All the rock and soil which still hovered high in the sky now fell, as a gruesome homage to the jutsu's name: planetary devastation. Amidst the onslaught, Naruto fell- his Jūichimen Kan'on fell. Nagato sighed in relief when he saw that the hastily created construct did not survive the impact of crashing into the earth. The sound of the wood tearing apart was sweet music to Nagato's ears.

"There is still a chance. Now, if only the boy stays down-"

The words which Nagato mumbled to himself were cut short when the ground underneath him burst open. Dropping Jiraiya, Nagato jumped back to dodge the wooden tentacles. A dome of wood pushed itself to the surface, splitting in two halves and revealing a blooded and fatigued Uzumaki. Naruto's flak jacket was practically torn to shreds. He absentmindedly tore the last parts of it from his torso as he shakily walked towards Jiraiya. The jinchūriki was essentially bare-chested, as his long-sleeved shirt was barely in any better condition than the former flak jacket. The parts of his upper body which consisted of Zetsu-tissue had repaired themselves quickly enough, but the parts which were truly Naruto were covered with bruises and cuts.

"Good, he's still alive," Naruto panted, glancing at his utterly exhausted godfather. Struggling against someone who tries to tear your soul out was something which classified as extremely taxing. A weary and weak grin was all the response Naruto got from the man, before he passed out. Reaching out with his senses, Naruto realized that the man was still alive but likely suffering from severe chakra exhaustion. "Hm. I guess he'll need a medic soon," he turned to look at Nagato. "That means that I have to cut our time short, Pein."

"Big words," Nagato said more calmly than he felt. In spite of the tattered condition of his opponent, Nagato knew that his situation was little better. Perhaps even worse, considering how his body hadn't exactly been in prime condition anyway. While his ability to walk had returned thanks to Zetsu, Nagato was still skin and bones. That single usage of Chibaku Tensei had already strained him to the point of multiple internal injuries.

Meanwhile, Naruto's power was growing again.

' _How did he escape? It was rumored that the Sage of the Six Paths himself used this jutsu to trap the Gedō Mazō. How can it be that this boy, who shouldn't even be a properly trained jinchūriki to begin with, was able to break free? Even if his mokuton kekkei genkai enables him to beat the Kyūbi into submission, it would not be aiding the boy voluntarily when he got trapped… would it?'_ Nagato frowned. Of course it would. The alternative would be that the Kyūbi got extracted from its jinchūriki, and sealed within the Gedō Mazō. Of course it would deem that fate worse than its current condition.

All of a sudden Kisame and Konan appeared in a cloud of smoke. "Nagato, we need to hurry," Konan urged. "He's stalling, buying time to refill his chakra reserves."

"Yeah, the kid definitely became stronger than we expected him to be."

"Then we should-" Nagato started, but once again Naruto cut him off. This time not by an exploding artificial moon, but simply with laughter.

"You've got to be shitting me," Naruto chuckled. "The mighty Pein can't tell the difference between the real ones and the fakes?" Konan and Kisame scowled at his words; clearly they had hoped that Naruto wouldn't spoil the surprise like this. Nagato took a closer watch, and noticed the small differences in their chakra patterns.

"Zetsu, what is the meaning of this?"

"Well… it came to my attention that you're losing your battle, Nagato," the Konan-Zetsu shrugged, with a very uncharacteristic smirk donning Konan's face.

"Yeah, it's truly a big letdown, you know," the Kisame-Zetsu had the same malicious grin, but in this case it looked rather natural. "We really thought you could take him down, Nagato."

"Quit fooling around, and help me against the jinchūriki," Nagato narrowed his eyes, glaring at the far too relaxed Zetsu. He wasn't sure what they were planning, but their words were obvious lies. Why? Had Zetsu _expected_ him to lose? What part of which plan was that?

Nagato was guarded, yes, but at the same time he was looking at the wrong place. The attack didn't come from behind. _He_ had not been Zetsu's target. No… a strange gurgle alerted Nagato.

"Poor Naruto-kun, so tired… and so fragile without his senjutsu," the Konan-Zetsu sniggered.

"Had we been any later, Naruto-kun would have been too weak to use properly," the Kisame-Zetsu looked at Nagato. " _His_ plans truly are a work of genius."

Nagato saw Uzumaki Naruto fall to his knees, his face contorted as if he was suffering an excruciating pain. From the ground underneath the boy's feet a black substance was creeping up his legs. The jinchūriki struggled, but it didn't take long. The black substance spread quickly, all over the right side of Naruto's body. The boy screamed when the substance reached his face, but after that he fell silent.

Until an all too familiar laugh broke the silence.

" **I knew the boy was strong, but he keeps exceeding my expectations. Zetsu, bring me more of your copies. I need chakra. Just bring them close enough so that I can drain them with one of Naruto-kun's mokuton jutsu.** "

"Aye-Aye," the Kisame-Zetsu saluted. Why Zetsu kept up the charade was something beyond Nagato's understanding, but the whiter half had always been rather silly. Apprehensively, Nagato watched as Black Zetsu flexed his new host's muscles. They had all been playing like puppets on Zetsu's strings. What was his true plan? Nagato couldn't tell. Worse, he was inclined to believe that he would not be a part of those plans. And he was currently rather defenseless. Exhausted, five of his Six Paths of Pein destroyed, Nagato knew he'd have to act very carefully now. Especially now that Black Zetsu seemed to rapidly replenish its chakra reserves.

" **Perfect,** " a grin spread over Black Zetsu's half of the face, as well as on that of Naruto himself. As if Zetsu wanted to demonstrate how complete his control over the boy's body was. " **No… not perfect… not yet…** "

"You do seem to be missing something," Konan-Zetsu nodded pensively- obviously mocking Nagato. "But what?"

" **Yes, it seems that your usefulness has come to an end, Nagato-kun,** " Black Zetsu said darkly. " **It is time for you to return those lovely eyes I so gracefully lent you…** "

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Was this an unexpected conclusion to the battle? Yes? Then I achieved my goal! Though, you can't blame me for not foreshadowing Zetsu's nasty goals. Losing Madara's body is indeed a slight setback, but Zetsu wouldn't be Zetsu if he didn't have plenty of contingency plans.

Things seem rather "bleak" right now, don't they? Naruto is out, Nagato is ripe for the picking, and every other strong combatant is dead, injured, or exhausted. Did I write myself into a corner? Did I manage to create an even more evil cliffhanger than I did in the previous chapter?

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**

* * *

 **Shinra Banshō**

Shinra Banshō literally means "All-Covering Forests and Ten Thousand Things". In the Buddhist idom is has also the meaning "all of nature" or "all of creation". The idea of using fungi and other microorganisms which were closely tied to nature was something Illuminated came up with. Originally, it was going to be more a genjutsu-like form of attack, inducing hallucinations and such. Shortly after Illuminated came with the idea, I got a pm from **RadioPoisoning** regarding the possibility of me coming up with a mokuton-based jutsu that was similar to Deidara's C4 Karura. The final result of this was the Shinra Banshō which appeared in this chapter. I've introduced the idea in an earlier chapter, in a bonus part, and it was also used against Orochimaru. Shinra Banshō only works when a lot of Kurama's chakra is used. This is also why the Kan'on statue, as it takes a lot of Kurama's chakra to create the statue, was able to breathe out this deadly cloud.


	20. Resurgence

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Twenty**

 **Resurgence**

* * *

" _Thus the sum of things is ever being renewed, and mortals live dependent one upon another. Some nations increase, others diminish, and in a short space the generations of living creatures are changed and like runners pass on the torch of life."_

― Titus Lucretius Carus

* * *

"The eyes… you lent me?" for a moment Nagato didn't know what to think, what to say, and least of all what to do. Had Zetsu truly used him to such an extent? Had he merely been a puppet, his entire life? Every fact he had taken for granted in his life suddenly seemed to be contested, challenged by this single statement from Zetsu.

"Well duhhh," the Kisame-Zetsu rolled 'his' eyes. "You really think that you were just randomly born with a dōjutsu as rare and powerful as the rinnegan?"

"We needed someone to carry those eyes," Konan-Zetsu agreed. "And there was a shortage of Uzumaki, so we were left with little choice…"

" **Things would have gone smoother had that toad sage not approached you,** " Black Zetsu groused. " **After White Zetsu posed as Konoha nin and murdered your parents, I thought it would have been best to leave you wallow in despair for a little while. Obviously that had been a mistake. Still, you had enough rage in your heart to make you easily manipulable.** "

"You killed my parents?"

"Yep, and wait until he explains the part of intercepting the messengers that went between Hanzō and Danzō," Konan-Zetsu chirped, planting another proverbial dagger in Nagato's heart.

" **No time. Let's just pluck out his eyes and get it over with,** " Black Zetsu said, steering Naruto's arms into forming a familiar hand seal.

"As if I would allow you to do that," Nagato growled, preparing his attack. "My parents, Yahiko, you've been the cause of it all!"

"Ah, ah, ah," Kisame-Zetsu wagged his finger chidingly. "You still don't understand your situation, do you?"

All of a sudden Nagato's legs gave out, leaving him sprawled over the ground. He could feel his chakra reserves evaporate, what little chakra he had stolen from Jiraiya now being stolen from him.

" **Why did you think I offered you those legs?** " Black Zetsu chuckled. The Zetsu-tissue which had encased Nagato's crippled legs turned into a butter-like substance, slithering over the ground until it reached the feet of Naruto and Black Zetsu, taking nearly all of Nagato's chakra along with it. The leech and the jinchūriki walked over to Nagato, kneeling next to the fallen leader of Akatsuki. Although Nagato only now realized that he had never truly been the leader of Akatsuki at all. Only a puppet, manipulated with invisible strings. " **I guess this is the moment when I say… game over.** "

"Did you hear that joke about the injured vegetable? Some say he got beet," Kisame-Zetsu added.

" **You really have a horrible sense of humor** ," Black Zetsu sighed tiredly. " **And an even worse sense of timing…** "

"Well at least-"

A thunderous explosion tore both Kisame-Zetsu and Konan-Zetsu apart. Before Black Zetsu fully realized what was going on, due to the dust and smoke that had blinded him, Nagato was already out of his reach.

" **I had hoped you had died, Konan-chan**."

"You didn't honestly think that I'd kill myself like that, did you?" Konan snarled. "Now DIE!"

" **How about no**?" Zetsu made Naruto shrug, while smirking nonchalantly. " **Your little origami tricks don't work against Naruto-kun, remember? Though, I admit you've managed to surprise me just now. I definitely need more time to get used to this body… though I suppose that I should count myself happy that I've managed to take control over it.** "

"Only just," Nagato panted, crawling out of the cocoon of paper in which Konan had wrapped him. "Our battle weakened him, but his power is vast, Zetsu. You were already struggling to take control over him. He'll soon grow too strong for you…"

" **What makes you think I will give him that much time?** " Zetsu admonished. " **Now, if you'd please-** "

Once again Zetsu was interrupted. He- and Naruto- found himself lying in a small crater, with an extremely agitated Senju standing in front of him. A Senju whose expression immediately shifted to horror, when she saw whom she had just hit.

"N-Naruto?"

" **Wrong,** " Black Zetsu sneered, with more meanings than just the obvious. Yes, she was standing before Naruto, technically, but her question was essentially wrong because Naruto wasn't the one who was in control right now. Beyond that, the whole situation was 'wrong' from Zetsu's point of view, as the Hokage wasn't supposed to be alive. One of the White Zetsu had reported that she had been severely injured in her battle against Jiraiya, and that her chakra reserves were mostly spent. Now that Zetsu looked closer, he noticed that the woman had lost the diamond-shaped seal on her forehead. There were still some fading lines covering her face and her body, but it was obvious that she was running on fumes. Still, she remained a dangerous opponent.

What was worse was that her presence changed this battlefield. Nagato was extremely vulnerable right now, and Zetsu knew he'd need to extract the rinnegan before the man would regain some of his vigor. His body might have been mostly exhausted, literally to the bone, but Nagato was still an Uzumaki. And if Zetsu had learned one thing over the centuries, it would be to never underestimate the life force of an Uzumaki.

Konan's presence was relatively unimportant. While the woman was undoubtedly dangerous, certainly capable enough on her own right to earn her spot within Akatsuki, she had a rather crucial vulnerability against Naruto. Still, in order to properly counter her paper-based jutsu Zetsu would need the time to focus. And unfortunately for him, his control over Naruto and Naruto's abilities wasn't as strong as he would have liked. Had it been Naruto himself, Konan wouldn't have stood much of a chance, but as he was right now… no, she'd be pesky if Zetsu couldn't focus on her. At the same time he couldn't afford to ignore Tsunade. The destructive power behind her fists was something that could be dangerous, especially with the injured and weakened condition which Naruto's body was in at the moment.

' _ **I could deal with both at the same time**_ _,'_ Black Zetsu pondered. ' _ **And I know I'd win. However, it would require more time than I can afford to waste. The risk of Nagato regaining some of his chakra in that amount of time is too great. Moreover, there are only a handful of White Zetsu's clones remaining. They will not be able to leach enough chakra for me to fight all three of them without risking defeat.**_ _'_

Black Zetsu sighed, making Naruto sigh along, and grimaced as he stared at Nagato. " **How vexing. It seems you live to see another worthless day, Nagato.** " This was no time for overconfidence, no time for pointless gambles. Not when he was so close to reviving his mother. With or without the rinnegan, he knew he'd succeed. Not having access to Uchiha Madara became even more annoying now that he had failed to take the rinnegan back. It removed both the option of the Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) as well as that of the Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique).

Still, there were always plenty of backup plans. There was always that storage facility where he was keeping a supply of sharingan, which Zetsu had stolen at the night the entire Uchiha clan had been massacred. It wouldn't be as efficient as reviving Madara, as the regular Mangekyō Sharingan would be less effective, but it would still do the job. So Zetsu suppressed his rage, and chose the wisest option. One way or the other, victory would be his. This small impediment, no matter how annoying, meant little.

' _ **This change of plans would require a larger supply of power for Naruto's mokuton, though. Hm. That would mean we have to relocate. I would rather have stayed away from that annoying place…**_ _'_

* * *

The moment Konan made the area explode, a courtesy of the numerous tags which she had spread, she already knew it was too late. Black Zetsu had somehow overtaken Naruto, and the two had disappeared into the earth.

Glaring at the Hokage, Konan wondered what she was supposed to do. Zetsu had betrayed them. He had stolen all the jinchūriki, and then attempted to steal Nagato's rinnegan. She couldn't say what had been going on, but since she didn't really know what to do, she hadn't attacked the Senju. On the contrary, she had erected a paper wall in front of the Hokage to protect her from the explosion, just as she had done for herself and Nagato.

An enemy of my enemy is my friend. But what to do when that enemy abandons the battlefield?

"Nagato?"

"It is over, Konan. We failed. I failed," never before had she heard Nagato talk with such a defeated tone of voice. Even when Yahiko had died, he had remained strong due to his anger, but now… now he was a broken man.

Staring at the two, Tsunade wondered why the blue-haired woman, even though she wore the cloak that designated her as a member of Akatsuki. Why had the woman attacked the one whom Tsunade had recognized as Zetsu, the being that had been the focus of Naruto's ire, and why had the woman shielded her from that same attack? An attack of that magnitude could have caused significant harm to Tsunade in her current condition, even more so due to her being distracted by the sight of the Zetsu-possessed Naruto.

"Tsunade-sama!" Ino leaped to her side. The Yamanaka had been too slow to keep up with her teacher, and hadn't seen exactly what had occurred. Seeing Jiraiya's unconscious form, two members of Akatsuki, the crater of the most recent attack, and Tsunade standing next to said crater…

"Stand down, Ino," Tsunade ordered, ignoring the utterly confused expression from her fellow blonde. "You two," she glared at Konan and Nagato, "what… what is going on? What did Zetsu do to Naruto?"

"Naruto-kun?" Ino blurted out, immediately shutting up when Tsunade's glare shifted to her. Ino knew very well that there was no room for distractions at this point. The woman in front of them wore the Akatsuki cloak, and the other… judging by Naruto's descriptions, that man was Pein. Although he had red hair, rather than the orange color Naruto had spoken of.

"We were betrayed," Nagato admitted slowly, his voice straining. "Zetsu… he betrayed us. He used us. Used me. Right from the very start."

"Nagato?" Konan blinked, surprised by the bitter way he had said the last part.

"My parents; for decades I believed that it had been shinobi from Konoha who killed them, but it turns out that it was Zetsu all along. Our best friend, Yahiko, died because Hanzō the Salamander and Konoha's Danzō decided to join forces and lure us into a trap. That was why we changed the goals of Akatsuki," Nagato looked at the Hokage. "But that was a lie as well. As despicable as their actions were, Hanzō and Danzō were tricked into what they did just as we were."

"Zetsu was also the one who killed Naruto's girlfriend," Ino muttered shyly, feeling rather out of place between shinobi of this stature. Still, she began to see some of the dots that could be connected. Naruto had spoken of Zetsu, and now Ino began to see how Zetsu had been the one who had orchestrated many events- even though she didn't know _why_.

Tsunade, however, had very different thoughts. "That barely excuses you for what you have done, Pein."

Shifting a bit, so that she stood between Nagato and the angered Hokage, Konan seemed ready to defend her friend. She was startled, however, when Nagato halted her. "No, Konan. The Hokage is right. _You_ were right," he looked her in the eye. "I should have listened to your warnings, Konan. I should have distrusted Zetsu more, but in my arrogance I thought he was too weak to be of any importance…"

"You were blinded by your pain," Konan mumbled. "Forgive me, Nagato. I only realized when it was too late, when you wouldn't listen anymore. I… I even betrayed Akatsuki. I attacked Zetsu, and destroyed the corpse of Uchiha Madara which Orochimaru had prepared. I couldn't find the remains of the other jinchūriki, though, so I presume that Zetsu managed to take them away."

"Good," Nagato smiled weakly. "I do not know what he wished to do with Madara, but-"

"Zetsu intended for you to revive Madara."

"…Madara, as in _the_ Uchiha Madara?" Tsunade mumbled after a short moment of silence. The Senju lost what little color she had remaining after the long-winded battle.

"Yes," Konan nodded. "Although that is of little importance now that Zetsu no longer has access to that body, and to Nagato himself. We should instead focus on stopping Zetsu."

"Konan," Nagato raised his hand. "She won't trust you. We have done too much, wronged too many to be viewed as trustworthy."

"You shouldn't have lost hope, Nagato," Konan sighed. Ino looked at her Hokage, questioningly, but Tsunade just shook her head curtly and remained silent. She didn't know what was going on between the two, but she could be damned if she said it didn't intrigue her.

"Hope… hope is what got us… _here._ "

"No," Konan seemed to gather some resolve. "Hope wasn't why you abused sensei's trust, why you used your jutsu to control his actions. Nor is hope the reason why you did what you did to Ajisai. It was despair and hatred that drove you. Your pain."

"Ah… the girl," Nagato looked away from his only friend. "She's why you changed, because you could relate to her."

"Yes," Konan scowled slightly. Even after all these years she still felt that pain in her chest whenever she thought about Yahiko, the man whom she had loved- the man she still loved. "I saw my old self in her, just like I saw Yahiko in Naruto."

"Yahiko… yes," Nagato slowly began to realize why Konan made the comparison. Not just in terms of looks, but it was the entire atmosphere surrounding the boy. Even if Naruto had tried to hide it underneath the façade of a ruthless mercenary, Nagato had seen the hope and idealism behind the boy, before Ajisai had died. After that happened, the boy's spirit had seemed to have broken. ' _Much like Konan broke after Yahiko died. What… what have I done?'_

"Naruto once told me that pain in itself teaches us nothing," Konan continued, ignoring Nagato's guilt as she couldn't see his expression. "It is love that binds us to people, and only because of that love we can feel pain when we lose those people."

Hearing those words, both Tsunade and Ino cringed, both for their own reasons. Tsunade had experience enough loss in her life, too much even, to know the truth behind those words, while Ino… Ino still had no idea how she was supposed to feel. Naruto had 'died', and then turned out to be alive after all, though he had changed so much that she could barely say that 'her' Naruto had returned. Her emotions had gone haywire, torn between the love for the boy she had grown up with, and the confusion revolving the young man which that boy had become. She couldn't say she still understood him, and that scared her. Hurt her.

Going through an emotional roller-coaster of his own, Nagato remained silent. Konan was right: it were the bonds of love that had defined his life. The love for his parents, the love for his friends, they had turned into pain after losing them. He had closed himself, shutting out even his closest and only remaining friend, Konan. Obsessed with dreams of vengeance, dreams that in his mind had been the justice he wanted to bring to the world, he had forgotten what had started it all. Was it Zetsu who played him? Yes. Did that in any way change the bonds he had, the affection for those who had perished and those who remained? No. But he had lost his way. The boy who had once sworn to his sensei that he'd do everything in his power to protect his friends had become so blinded that his only remaining friend had turned against him.

"Tsunade of the Senju clan, Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure," his voice, soft and gravely, reached the ears of those present. Lying on his side, the chakra receivers that pierced his back inhibiting him from lying down in another way, he looked nothing like the fearsome leader of Akatsuki he had been. His body exhausted and crippled, his will broken, even in the eyes of Konan he seemed only a shadow of his former self. Still, his voice held more determination than she had expected.

"Pein," Tsunade grunted, confirming that she heard him.

"My mistakes… if I can request one thing of you, it would be not to make Konan suffer for what I have done," he raised a hand, silencing Konan when she tried to interrupt him. "Jiraiya-sensei suffers from chakra exhaustion, but he'll survive even without medical attention. He, in his heart, never betrayed you or Konoha, even though he lost hope. He acted as a spy for me, as I distrusted Zetsu, but otherwise he was not involved in the crimes committed by Akatsuki. Not voluntarily, at least. When he heard that Naruto had returned to Konoha, he wished to leave us, but I used my jutsu against him."

"Ino destroyed that chakra receiver," Tsunade nodded. "After that he… well, he's not the Jiraiya I once knew, but that is my own fault."

"Only someone you deeply care for can hurt you so much, isn't that what you just implied, Konan?" Nagato smiled weakly. "I've dragged them down with me. Don't blame them for my mistakes."

"Nagato, I-"

"No, Konan. It is too late for me now," Nagato chided her calmly. Although he struggled to keep himself calm as he spoke further. "My body is too weak, too fragile. In spite of his retreat, Zetsu still covets my rinnegan. He will return, and we cannot allow him to get my eyes. They must be passed on. Just as our hopes and dreams must one day be passed on. I hope you can free Naruto. And stop Zetsu… his control… it is fragile. Had Naruto been a little stronger… had I not pushed him to the point of exhaustion… I'm… I'm sorry, Konan. For everything."

"Nagato, you don't need to… with some rest, you will…"

The ram and snake hand seals which he formed silenced her weak protests. "Gedō – Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique)," Nagato remained calm and collected, even when the last bits of chakra were drained from his body. His skin turned in a sickly grey, and his hair lost all color completely. Before Konan fully realized what he had done, Uzumaki Nagato closed his eyes for the very last time, a faint smile adorning his face.

The world turned silent, if only for a second, while Konan looked at the now lifeless body of her last friend. Why? Why had he used that jutsu, while he was already on the verge of death? What had he meant, passing them on?

A deep gasp shook her from her thoughts.

* * *

She vaguely remembered herself fighting with someone. Kunai were thrown from every direction. For each enemy that was taken down, two more sprang up. It was hopeless. Something warm was running down her back, and moving suddenly became a lot more difficult. Desperation, that she perhaps would never again see him again. She had been injured, and soon felt herself growing tired, her movements sluggish, her limbs powerless; and yet she tried to defend herself. Against whom? She didn't really remember.

It was as if a blood-red haze had clouded her mind.

The next thing she remembered was sitting somewhere, in the middle of nowhere, all alone. It was dark. As she walked and walked, seemingly forever, she found herself a little campfire. She called, hoping for someone to answer her, but no one had been there. She had been all alone. The fire offered some warmth and light in this cold and dark area, which she welcomed happily. She wasn't sure where she was, nor why she was where she was, but at least this fire made this spot somewhat tolerable. Only now did she notice the log lying close to the fire.

It was lonely here, with nothing to do. First, she had feared that the fire would run out, that she'd once again be left alone in this endless darkness. She didn't know how much time passed, but the fire kept going. Sometimes she heard vague voices in the distance, calling out names she didn't know. She tried to shout back, but no one ever responded. Likewise, she occasionally thought she saw silhouettes of people move around in the darkness. But no one ever stepped into the light which her fire spread.

So she was left alone, with little more left to her than her thoughts. Most of them revolved around the person she loved, some of the others focused on the person she admired, the ones who were her friend, and the relatives whom she had lost. But most of the times she thought about the person she loved. She longed for him, wondering where he'd be. Then again, she didn't know where she was, so she had no idea how she was supposed to reach out to him either.

As if her longing was manifested and became reality, pain spread through her body. Her arms, legs, torso… on several places all over her body she felt as if she was stabbed. The worst ones, however, were the places in her face. Her nose, her cheeks, it was as if someone just pushed a kunai into her flesh. The pain was too much, and soon she felt herself slip into unconsciousness.

When she finally woke up she had no idea of how much time had passed. Her body still hurt and that sense of wrongness spreading from those places remained, but… well, people could grow accustomed to pain, to some degree at least.

Having been unconscious for some time, her body felt rather cold, so she scooped closer to the fire. Time passed, but she couldn't really say that she began to feel any warmer. She couldn't truly describe how she felt, other than by saying that she felt as if she wasn't completely 'here'. As if part of herself was still somehow connected to someplace else. Was it a genjutsu? Dispelling failed, so she thought not.

"How long have I even been here?" she asked herself while she shivered next to the fire. She'd almost been tempted to just sit in the fire itself. Where was she? Nowhere. Were there any ways to see the passing of time? No. There were no stars, no moon, no sunrise or sunset. There was nothing at which she could orient, other than the fire next to which she sat. She was stuck.

So she just sighed and kept waiting. She had no clue who or what she was waiting for, but still she felt like she had to wait until she could move on. Bored, she started to hum songs she remembered from when she was a little girl, songs that her sister had taught her. But eventually she ran out of songs- she didn't want to repeat the ones which she had heard her father sing at the times he had consumed one bottle of sake too many. So, she did what she could do best. Draw.

With a little bit of charcoal which she took from the fire, she started to draw the face of her beloved on the ground. It was a bit silly, she thought, but somehow the sight of the bewhiskered and scarred boy calmed her. Her friends had been right: she had become lovesick. A sappy, madly in love, stupid teenage girl. And she did not regret a single moment of it.

"…sitting in a tree, kissing…" she mumbled the words of the childish song which her friend had used to tease her. "I love you, Naruto-kun." Time passed, and she had drawn a few other faces, until something finally changed.

Staring around her, she tried to figure out what had changed, but everything seemed to be exactly the same. Still… "There! I felt it again," she exclaimed, not bothered at all that she was speaking out loud after this indeterminable time of solitude.

It was a strange sort of 'pull'. Strange, because it was unlike anything she had ever felt before. A normal pull was when someone would grab you by the wrist, and pull you along. That sort of feeling. But this… this 'pull' was not focused on one spot. Whatever it was, it pulled every fiber of her being to some place. Confused by what it was, she considered resisting the sensation, and to try to drag herself back to her fire. But whatever- whoever- it was, for some odd reason she couldn't say that it felt wrong.

A blinding light enveloped her, and…

Suddenly she was in a world of pain. She tried to see, but either it was completely dark, or she was blind. She gasped, and began to panic. She heard voices, but couldn't focus on the sounds, making it all one big blur of noise. She tried to move, but her body barely reacted. Then someone touched her neck, and her consciousness faded away.

* * *

Bit by bit she woke up. She tried to open her eyes, but her vision was once again obscured. She did have her hearing back, however. From her left, at some distance, she heard someone breathe slowly, almost as if that person was asleep. Closer to her right a similar sound could be heard, although that person was more restless, mumbling unintelligible things every now and then. Judging by the sound of the voice, she thought that the person on her right was female.

Where was she?

Unable to see, she tried to move. It went a little sluggishly, as if she was suffering from an extremely bad case of chakra exhaustion. With some effort she got her arm to move. It was a bit awkward at first, but once she got the blood flowing it went a little easier. The limb still felt limp, but at least it moved. By touch she tried to figure out why she couldn't see.

It turned out her head was wrapped in some kind of cloth. Bandages? No, she couldn't recall having sustained a head injury. Could she? When she tried to figure it out, she only found out that her memories were a complete mess. She remembered some kind of campfire. But… there was also something about being attacked by many white humanoid creatures. It was all so surreal, as if she had just woken up from a bad dream.

She fiddled clumsily with one hand, but that ended up in failure. So, she focused on her other arm. Just like her right, the left arm first needed some movement to get the hang of it. These were her arms, yes, but something was… wrong. What, she couldn't say, but something had definitely changed. Everything felt familiar, yet different at the same time. With two hands at her disposal, she eventually managed to get rid of the bandages which covered her face.

She blinked. Blinked again. Yes, she could see, but… what on earth was going on?

' _It's like everything is emitting a faint light. The colors are different too,'_ she noted, trying to figure out what was happening to her. Little by little she managed to focus, trying to look past the blur of lights and see the forms and colors which she was used to see. ' _Is that…'_

"Suiren?" she heard her own raspy voice, barely more than a whisper. Her friend was sitting next to her, having dozed off into an uneasy sleep. "Suiren?" she tried again, this time a little louder. A confused snore was her answer- quite unladylike for the otherwise calm and composed Suiren. "Suiren?" a third attempt was more successful.

Suiren's eyes flew open, and when she looked at her friend she fell from the chair on which she had been sleeping, with a particularly squeamish scream.

Someone else rushed in, while the breath of other person in the room indicated that that person had woken up, although remaining calm. She couldn't really see that person, as there was too much light surrounding him or her. This new arrival, shrouded in a soft yellow, was more visible than the others. Too visible, actually.

With a shock she recalled her assailants. She raised her arms, intending to shield herself, when something else happened. Chakra strained and struggled, forcing its way through her tenketsu, until it reached her eyes. Before she realized what she did, the girl who was approaching her was sent back- flying.

"Ajisai!" Suiren exclaimed. "C-calm down! What did you… Ino, are you okay?!"

Ajisai heard a muffled reply, but couldn't really make sense of what had just happened. It was as if she had created some kind of force field around her, with that chakra within her eyes, which had forced the yellow-shrouded girl back.

Two more people entered, both radiating a strong light. One was red-brownish, while the other was a cold blue. The person at her left, the one with the greenish light around him or her now moved, although the red-brown person ordered him to stay put. At least, Ajisai figure that 'Green' was male, judging by the muffled reply. Red-brown was female, and moved to Green while the area around her hands started to glow with a blinding brightness.

Turning away, Ajisai groaned and closed her eye. In that time 'Blue' moved next to her, and helped her to sit up straight. It hurt, the movement, but Ajisai figured that she'd get better soon, just like with her arms. Blue remained silent, although quite close. Then it was as if her light dimmed, and Ajisai saw who was sitting next to her.

"T-Tenshi-sama?" Ajisai gasped. "What… where…"

"Calm down, Ajisai," Konan said with a tenderness which Ajisai had never heard from the woman before. "Why did you take off your bandages?" she moved and gently placed her hand underneath Ajisai's chin, moving the girl's head as if she was inspecting her. "Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-sensei, could you both try to mask your chakra? It would make it easier for Ajisai to get accustomed to seeing chakra."

"S-seeing chakra?" Ajisai blurted out. "Why would I be able to see… oh," she gasped that last bit out; slack jawed when Konan held up a little mirror. With orange hair and purple eyes, it was more like she saw a stranger staring back at her.

"The girl shouldn't be moving around already," Red-brown- Tsunade- spoke up.

"Calm down, Hime, Konan knows what she's doing," Green- Jiraiya- stopped Tsunade's protests. Ajisai saw Suiren return into the tent carrying the unfortunate girl who had been hurled out by Ajisai unintentional attack.

"I… I remember her," Ajisai said shakily. "She was one of the Zetsu who… Suiren? Where is Fuyō?"

A strained silence followed, until Suiren finally opened her mouth again, visibly forcing herself to speak. "Ajisai, I'm sorry but Fuyō… she didn't make it."

"Zetsu ambushed your team," Konan informed Ajisai. "While he posed as the team of Konoha shinobi that was near. Yamanaka Ino was one of them, thus one of the ones whom Zetsu copied."

"I still can't fathom that anyone would sink that low," Jiraiya grumbled. The man was still forced to stay in bed, as Tsunade insisted he required rest in order to recover, even though he thought he could get out already. But an angered Tsunade was not easily ignored. And after the long talk that they had just had, Jiraiya wasn't willing to test the limits of their fragile friendship just yet. He knew that they had both messed up, and both still needed to truly forgive the other. But at least they've made a first tentative step.

"Just be glad that Naruto-kun eventually saw through the deception," Ino spoke up, confusing Ajisai with the usage of that particular honorific. And why was the blonde avoiding looking at her? Was it because she had attacked her? Ajisai felt rather uneasy about it. Still, the girl named Ino talked about Naruto, and about a possible deception.

"Where is Naruto-kun?" Ajisai asked. Well, it sounded more like a demand, but she didn't care. All that mattered was that she could see him again. The awkward silence that followed filled her with dread. She had just heard that one of her best friends had died- she still hadn't truly processed that- and now… her heart pounded as she waited for the hesitation to end.

"Zetsu has taken him," Konan eventually decided to word it that way. "No, Naruto isn't dead. But Zetsu has somehow parasitized on his body, controlling Naruto. Including Naruto's abilities. That is how Zetsu managed to get away."

"I think it is best to start describing the entire situation to her, Konan," Jiraiya sighed. "Frankly, I think that Ino and Suiren also deserve to know what happened. Hell, I have questions about it all, as bits and parts are still unclear, even though Tsunade described the whole thing to me."

"I told you as much as I knew," Tsunade grumbled.

"Very well," Konan sighed. Only now did Ajisai notice that the woman wasn't wearing her Akatsuki cloak. She wore a loose plain black cloak on top of a navy blue robe and a pair of blue pants. Had she paid attention to it, Ajisai would also have noted that Konan was no longer wearing her ring. "I think the easiest part is to start at the point which you last remember, Ajisai."

"I… my memories are rather fuzzy," the girl admitted. Being distracted by seeing all those colors around her didn't help her focus either. There were so many things that came to mind, but she pushed them away: right now she just wanted to know what happened to Naruto, and how he could be freed.

"That is understandable," Konan said with a surprisingly sad expression. "Ajisai, I know this sounds strange, but you did not escape Zetsu's ambush. Only Suiren did. You… died."

Looking around, Ajisai thought that the others would make remarks on this, but even Suiren's expression only showed a sad grimace. Still, hearing the news that she had died was bizarre, and if anyone but Konan had told her, she would have laughed at it. Still, she wasn't dead right now, so _something_ must have happened, right? Did Pein, Amegakure's Kami, rescue her?

"Zetsu ambushed you and your team while wearing those disguises, and showed Naruto an amended recording of the attack. I suspect that his plan was to set Naruto against Konoha, which nearly succeeded, had Suiren and Ino not intervened."

"We found him, Ajisai," Suiren nodded slowly. "We nearly died in doing so, but we managed to convince him. He had already left Akatsuki, claiming that he had gotten his memories back, but he was still… dangerously unstable is the best word to describe his state of mind at that point."

"He killed that freak Kakuzu like he was nothing, and stated that he had just slain Orochimaru and wiped out an entire base of Otogakure shinobi," Ino added. "To say that he was hurt by your death would be an understatement. But we managed to explain that he was deceived."

"Naruto-kun said he was from Konoha," Ajisai mumbled. "His memories… how… was he alright?"

"Not really," Tsunade said bluntly. "He was suicidal, as far as I saw. He first thought that Ino killed you, and that was probably the worst thing that could've happened from his perspective. After all, before he left Konoha and 'died' in Zetsu's first attempt to control him, Naruto and Ino were rather close. After that, you and him got engaged, so… I don't want to think of the way that would have hurt him."

"Enough to trigger his memories, apparently," Konan remained calm, though underneath her stoic voice Ajisai could hear a tremor of sadness. "He rejoined Konoha, and together with the other four greater hidden villages he launched an attack on Amegakure. An attack that Zetsu exploited to create a lot of chaos. Naruto wished to stop Akatsuki, having seen through part of Zetsu's scheme. This led to a battle between Naruto and Nagato."

"You know Nagato as Pein," Jiraiya supplied, seeing the girl's confusion.

"Ame lost the war, but after I surrendered our forces to Konoha our losses were still somewhat limited," Konan continued. "Our village could have been razed, the people slaughtered, but we can count ourselves lucky that the villages decided to accept our surrender."

"Except Kumo," Jiraiya frowned worriedly. "Have you heard anything from them, Hime?"

"I received word today that Kumogakure has declared war on Iwagakure, although I dare say that it could just as easily have been the other way around. After all, from the reports we got it was the Raikage who killed the Tsuchikage, before the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage killed the Raikage."

"Zetsu," Konan replied pointedly. The whole situation stank of his deception. "Just as I suspect that it is Zetsu who is behind the unrest within Kirigakure. Sunagakure lost over half of its forces during the war, Kiri is on the verge of civil war, and Kumo and Iwa are at each other's throats."

"Don't forget Konoha," Tsunade said wearily. "The council is pushing me to exploit the weakness of the other nations. The fools."

"I couldn't find any hints of Zetsu's involvement," Konan muttered. "But it is impossible to say whether or not he plays a role in this. Only Nagato and Naruto seemed to be effective at detecting Zetsu," she looked at Ajisai. "That returns me to you, Ajisai. You see… Nagato possessed the rinnegan, a dōjutsu which granted him a range of exceptionally strong abilities. This is why you, and most of Amegakure, knew him as 'Kami-sama'. In any case, he believed that a clash between himself and Naruto was inevitable, so he readied his Six Path of Pein. These Six Paths are six bodies that carried chakra receivers, through which Nagato controlled the bodies and transferred part of his power."

Looking at her bandaged arms, and having seen the injuries on her face which were still in the process of healing, Ajisai reached a rather morbid conclusion. "Pein-sama used me against Naruto-kun."

"He did. You were one of the Six Paths of Pein, yes," Konan nodded sadly. "I… disagreed. But it was only until it was too late that Nagato finally understood the errors of his way. Naruto defeated Nagato. But both were so tired that Zetsu was able to somehow grab control of Naruto's body, after which he tried to steal Nagato's rinnegan. I stopped that, together with Tsunade-sama," she gestured to the Hokage. "And after that… Nagato was dying. He had asked too much of himself, and his body couldn't handle the strain anymore. When he came to understand the situation, he sacrificed himself in order to revive you, Ajisai."

"…why me?" Ajisai eventually asked, stunned.

"There are many reasons," Konan decided to avoid discussing the emotional aspects behind Nagato's decision, or at least what she thought had driven him to do what he had done. "But the most prominent reason is that you were the only one compatible with his dōjutsu. Naruto destroyed the other bodies, so only you were left. I presume you already noticed your new eyes and your changed hair color?"

Ajisai nodded sheepishly, not seeing the point.

"Your eyes are Nagato's rinnegan. Because you were one of Nagato's Six Paths, he knew you were compatible. After all, he used some kind of process to prepare the bodies so that they were of optimal use to him. I cannot say that I understand the specifics, but from what Tsunade-sama said, Nagato somehow managed to alter you at the molecular structure. He changed you genetically, so that you could use the power of one of Nagato's paths, and carry the replica of the rinnegan which he gave to each of his Six Paths."

"Those are changes no human can survive, so he would never have been able to do it to himself," Tsunade clarified. "But you, Ajisai, were dead at the time. So there were no restraints to what he could alter. Although I dare say that you function as a regular human being in any other sense of the word. But you tenketsu were altered significantly. It is why your body will most likely feel very strange at first. Still, because Pein changed your body to that degree, I managed to transplant the rinnegan to you without any real issues. In fact, I dare say that you are even more fit to use those eyes that he was, because unlike him you do not show any signs of rejecting the foreign tissue."

"He… he gave his life… to bring me back?" Ajisai stammered. For the first time she truly considered the possibility of having been dead. Had that been why she had been in that darkness? "Because of this dōjutsu?"

"There are less noble reasons for it too," Jiraiya, blunt as ever, told her. "It was guilt. Guilt for what he did to you. Guilt, because of the way he used you, and made Naruto fight your animated corpse. As much as I am relieved that my wayward student at least managed to come to his senses, shortly before his demise, I cannot condone what he has done."

"We will need time, Ajisai, to sort this all out. I will personally help you, to the best of my abilities, to adapt to your new eyes," Konan promised. "Because we need to stop Zetsu. We need to free Naruto, for which we would need all the help we can get. Next to that, we face the risk that Zetsu will still try to grab the rinnegan. So you need to be able to defend yourself."

The magnitude of the news they had just fired at her finally began to sink in.

"…I told you that we should've given her more time to recover," Tsunade muttered, quickly checking Ajisai's vitals. The girl had passed out, and if not for Konan's help she would have fallen out of the hospital bed. "Hm. She's completely exhausted."

"She removed the bandages, and used the rinnegan for the first time. Keeping information from her could have been dangerous," Konan disagreed. "You saw how she instinctively used Shinra Tensei, weak as it was, against Ino. Imagine how she could have responded to the news if her chakra reserves had been replenished…"

"I will help you," Jiraiya sighed. "You'll need all the help you can get to quickly train the girl. And I was the one who trained Nagato, remember?"

"I'm sorry, Jiraiya, but as soon as you are able I need you to start locating Naruto and Zetsu. We cannot afford to give him too much time," Tsunade abandoned her role as medic, and acted as the Hokage she was. "We know Zetsu will need time, and our worst estimates are that it will take no longer than a month until he will have finished the sealing of the three Bijū that Akatsuki captured. And then there is the matter of the Kyūbi. We have no clue how Zetsu is going to extract the Kyūbi while still keeping Naruto alive."

"Tsunade-sama, does Zetsu still need Naruto-kun after that?" Ino asked the question which Tsunade rather ignored. "Zetsu wishes to bring the Jūbi back, so why would he need Naruto-kun?"

"Control, most likely," Jiraiya answered for Tsunade. "The mokuton kekkei genkai is renowned for its ability to subjugate the Bijū, so it is highly likely that it would have a similar effect on the Ten-Tails. But I agree that we need to hurry… Naruto is our first priority. If we can free him from Zetsu, Zetsu can't continue its plan"

"Ino, I will leave you to finish healing the injuries which Ajisai's chakra receivers have left. Similarly, you will need to constantly check whether her body accepts these new eyes. We've both seen how the way Pein used her body resulted in her original eyes being burned away. That made the transplant easier, true, but we know nothing about what the strain of the rinnegan might cause. Remember, where she only used one of the six paths before, she now is exposed to the power of them all. Also, if possible, and only after you have her permission, it might be wise to check her mind. I cannot say that I have ever read any research on people who have been revived after their deaths, and considering the potential of her power we cannot risk her to be mentally unstable."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," while she felt a bit conflicted, Ino accepted her orders. While she was nowhere near the level of Shizune, not even mentioning Tsunade herself, Ino did pick up a lot of things with regard to medical ninjutsu. Considering how Ajisai's complicated wounds had already been closed, the injuries caused by the chakra receivers had given Tsunade quite a headache to undo, all that was left was for Ino to speed up the healing process and monitor her health.

"Suiren, you stay with Ajisai and Ino," Tsunade turned to the former Ame-nin. "Ajisai will need time to process all that has happened to her. You are the most familiar face which she has in this place, so your support to her will be vital. With everything she's been through she will need friends more than any method of healing we can provide. Beyond that, I want you to use your abilities as a sensor to keep Ajisai safe."

"Tsunade-sama, I will return to my people and make the arrangements for repairing Amegakure," Konan looked at the Hokage. "After that, I think it is wisest to bring Ajisai back to Konoha. The defenses there will be stronger. I will act as ambassador of Ame while I teach Ajisai all I know about the rinnegan's abilities."

* * *

"-so I was planning to leave a medium-sized force, under command of my son," Shikaku finished. "Shikamaru might still be lacking in experience, but he is the most intelligent shinobi which we can spare for the job."

"Agreed," Tsunade sighed. Meetings like these were boring, really boring, but an unavoidable part of the job. Shizune had already gone back to Konoha, leading the convoy that transported the injured and deceased back home. With Ino overlooking Ajisai, Tsunade had to do everything on her own. A quite irritating fact on top of that was that Shizune had 'accidentally' forgotten to bring along any form of alcohol- except for the sort used to disinfect medical equipment, but even Tsunade wasn't crazy enough to drink that.

"Suna might make a claim on Ame territory, but with the war brewing between Iwagakure and Kumogakure, as well as the lack of leadership within Iwa, it seems more likely that Suna focuses on defense. Especially after the losses they suffered, and the lack of a strong leader, Suna is not really in a position to challenge us," Shikaku clarified. "I would propose we push and annex Amegakure completely, rather than merely making a puppet state out of them."

"Yes, yes, I know you wish to exploit the current situation. I, however, prefer to seek a diplomatic option," Tsunade sighed once more. She was tired of the people arguing for more conflict, just because the other villages showed vulnerabilities right now. "Shikaku, do not forget we just united our forces in an allied army, for the first time in the existence of the hidden village system."

"An alliance which led to the Raikage betraying us and murdering the Tsuchikage," Shikaku retorted. "The common threat that somewhat unified our villages is gone. Pein died, Amegakure is conquered, and you yourself told us that Zetsu fled the scene. As the strategist of Konohagakure no Sato, logic demands of me that I advise you to exploit the current imbalance of power. Never before have we been given such an opportunity."

"Enough," Tsunade wave her hand dismissively. "It is futile arguing about it now. Our forces have to heal and rest first. I'm sure the council will be more than eager to talk about warfare once we return to the village."

"As you wish," Shikaku conceded, though visibly displeased. While not a warlike man, Shikaku recognized an opportunity when he saw it, and being the Nara he is, he hated to waste the chance to do things with the least amount of effort possible. The idea that peace could be achieved through diplomacy was, to him, naïve, especially when there was a window of opportunity to create a peace by vanquishing their foes. "There is one last matter which I need to bring to your attention, Hokage-sama."

"Yes?"

"Our… _guests_. I assigned Maito Gai and his team to keep an eye on them."

"Ugh, it is an unnecessary precaution, but fine," Tsunade rolled her eyes. "Neither Konan nor Ajisai will try something, while Suiren is no real threat."

"As you say, Hokage-sama," Shikaku bowed and left, but looked completely unconvinced. Truth be told, Tsunade couldn't really blame him. Konoha had suffered losses during the assault on Ame as well. With Konan being a former member of Akatsuki, the right hand of Pein himself even, distrust towards her was to be expected. And she was pretty sure that Shikaku had a good idea of who Konan truly was.

Still, Tsunade feared that these annoyances would soon grow into far greater problems, once the council could make its demands. Looking down at the table that temporarily served as her desk, Tsunade reread the letter which Kurotsuchi had sent her on behalf of Iwagakure.

"Why do I get the feeling they'll take the hat from me once I announce that Iwa requested a formal alliance?" Tsunade muttered. "Too many are still caught up in old grudges to ever accept that. Fools… Dan died at Iwa hands, how do they think I feel," she scowled.

Still, she'd try everything in her power to get this alliance authorized. Not for the last time did Tsunade regret her years of drunken stupor, in which the council had taken power from her, bit by bit, while she was too inebriated to notice what was going on. If only she had listened to Shizune and Ino.

"Perhaps I should keep Konan and Ajisai away from the village first, before someone does something stupid," the Senju sighed. A military leader who couldn't fully trust her own military, she wondered what her old sensei would have done in this position. "If only Pein had revived you too, Sarutobi-sensei…"

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Yep, Konan is still very much alive. It did seem like she pulled a kamikaze attack on us earlier, didn't it? Even Zetsu bought it. Well, not that this would be much of a feat with the whiter half, but deceiving the blacker half of Zetsu is far more impressive. Where is Zetsu taking Naruto and the remaining jinchūriki, though?

Meanwhile, the war ended in a rather bad way. Or better said: it didn't end. Kumo and Iwa are at war, Kiri is at the verge of a civil war (instigated by Zetsu), and Sunagakure has suffered too many losses to involve itself in matters beyond the defense of their own borders. At least, while Iwa is unstable they won't risk weakening their defenses, as there is too much bad blood between the two villages. And Konoha… well, you heard Shikaku. They've practically taken control of Ame, and are eager to exploit the advantage they gained.

Still, the focal points of this chapter are Nagato's demise and Ajisai's subsequent resurgence. Though I bet there were plenty who saw her revival coming. Hell, I basically spoiled it by never changing the fact that this story has Ajisai as a main character. I wonder how many of you expected the rinnegan transplant, though!

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	21. Acquiescence

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Twenty One**

 **Acquiescence**

* * *

" _Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."_

― Dr. Seuss

* * *

Some people would react in a different manner, she supposed. What she did was an order, yes, but she knew enough that shinobi often weren't expected orders to the letter. In this case, she knew very well that others could fill in for these tasks just as well. Or perhaps even better.

Looking at her unconscious patient, she wondered why she felt so conflicted. It was fairly easy, actually. She was the medic, and her patient required her help. So why was she so contemplative? Was it jealousy?

' _I'm really disgusting,'_ she scolded herself. ' _When I thought she was dead, I felt sad for her even though I didn't even know her, but kept hoping like a fool. And now that she's alive again… why do I have to feel so damn disappointed?'_

She was disgusted by her own thoughts. Ajisai had never asked for any of this, nor had Naruto. These things had simply happened to them. So who was she to stand in their way?

'But Naruto loves you!' the tiny treacherous voice in her head urged.

' _He… doesn't. Not anymore,'_ Ino grimaced. 'Her' Naruto had gone out on a mission, all that time ago, and had gone missing. 'Her' Naruto had been presumed dead, although he never truly died. He had merely lost his memories, during what was in hindsight the first attempt from Zetsu to control Naruto. ' _Perhaps it is better to just say that Naruto-kun perished that day,'_ Ino sighed. Yes, the Naruto who had returned had been nothing like the Naruto she had waved goodbye. The bright and cheerful boy who had been ready to conquer the world with his unbridled enthusiasm had returned as a broken young man, scarred in both physical and mental ways that Ino could barely fathom.

'But he still cares for you, he said so!'

Her heart and her mind were in disagreement. Yes, he still cared, obviously, as he could remember everything. But his feelings weren't the same. In spite of those memories he had apologized to her, telling her that he was confused. He had admitted that he still loved Ajisai. And that disgusting little voice in her head told her to wait and let him grieve, until he was ready for her again.

And now Ajisai had been revived.

Ino didn't know what she was supposed to feel. Part of her was happy for Naruto to, if they managed to free him from Zetsu's grasp, get a chance to reunite with his loved one. The other part was jealous. But jealous of what?

' _The Naruto I love is gone,'_ she told herself. ' _Time passed, and the hardships he has gone through left him changed. I… I can't even say that I understand him anymore. Not like I once did. I guess that's why he told me everything he had gone through… it is gap between us. And this girl, she already stands at the other side, at his side, doesn't she?'_

To her surprise, she found herself staring in the purple ripple-pattern eyes of the girl whom had been the focus of her thoughts. How long had she been lost in thought, standing next to Ajisai? Ino couldn't tell. Nothing had alerted her to Ajisai waking up either. It left her feeling like she was caught, even though Ajisai could hardly have read her mind.

"Do you hate me?" Ajisai asked calmly. For a moment, Ino felt the color draining from her face, thinking her mind had indeed been read.

"I… no! W-why would I?"

"Suiren told me," the orange-haired girl remained perfectly calm, but her purple eyes were staring at Ino. Ino, who felt as if she could look straight through her. "You and Naruto-kun were close, before he… lost his memories."

"We were," Ino gulped. "But that's-"

"I'm standing between you and Naruto-kun, it is perfectly normal to have certain emotions about that," Ajisai smiled a bit, amused by the range of emotions that crossed the blonde's face. "In Amegakure, these sorts of things often led to conflicts, either openly or covertly."

"Conflict?" Ino blinked.

"Are you intending to kill me, Yamanaka Ino?" Ajisai asked bluntly.

"Wha… kill?!"

"Tenshi… Konan-sama said I would become strong, so now would be the best point for you to resolve this rivalry."

"Why would I want to kill you?" Ino tried to laugh it off, but was disturbed by the calmness in Ajisai's voice. As if she completely resigned herself.

"You are confused and are in pain," Ajisai's eyes narrowed. "I can see it clearly enough in the flow of your chakra, so why would you try to laugh it away like that? Suiren told me you knew Naruto-kun far longer than I have, so I cannot imagine that you would back off that easily."

"…but that doesn't mean I would sink as low as trying to assault the person whom Naruto-kun loves," Ino turned away and quickly walked out of the tent, fleeing. As soon as she did, papers fluttered through the tent, forming the mistress of origami herself.

"I told you to stop using that honorific, Ajisai," Konan said calmly. "Then again, I remember you teasing Naruto with it as well…" she smiled when she saw that Ajisai was rendered speechless. She laid down a bundle of papers, and left without saying a word. When Ajisai gathered her wits- shocked that Konan would think that she made fun of her- and looked at the bundle, she was left in tears.

Apparently Konan had gone to her apartment. That was where Ajisai remembered leaving these drawings. She was amazed that Konan would have kept her belongings. Still… seeing her drawing of Fuyō hurt terribly.

Under the cover of a complex genjutsu that completely concealed his presence, Jiraiya shook his head. Konan's methods of motivating the girl were rather brutal. He couldn't say that it wasn't effective, though, as he saw a determination on her face which he knew she would need. Her training would be harsh, as there was little time for relaxation. Once the girl was healed, there wouldn't be much time for her to ponder about the things which had happened to her.

Jiraiya offered a silent prayer to whatever gods were out there, asking them to lend the girl the strength she'd need. The world of shinobi would need the power of the rinnegan if they were to stand a chance at liberating Naruto and preventing the Jūbi from rising again.

* * *

' _Kill? Attack? Assassination? Was she joking? No, the way she said it, it was no joke at all,'_ Ino tried to get control over the annoyingly trembling lip. She wanted to remain calm, to show no weaknesses. She had mostly managed to do that during the time in which she had believed that Naruto had died, so why was it so difficult now?

The conclusion seemed simple: she began to accept that she had lost Naruto.

The objective side of her mind had concluded long ago that she was been going through the stages. Denial, anger, she'd gone through it all. Her parents had taught her too much on the matter of psychology- a form of training which was essential to any Yamanaka- to be unaware of it. And yet she had never truly accepted Naruto's death, especially not when she first saw 'Kūnomori'.

Yet now, more than ever before, she felt like she had lost him. She sighed, and moved into her own tent. Later today she'd have to say goodbye to her teammates, as Shikamaru and Chōji would be staying with the forces which Konoha left in Amegakure to oversee the aftermath of this war. Shikamaru would even lead it. While that was somewhat unusual considering how he was 'just' a chūnin, she knew that none of the jōnin that would stay in Ame would even get close to her friend's sharp mind. While she understood why they'd stay, she did feel lonely without them.

On the plus side, she'd get back home soon, so she'd be able to empty her heart with her parents. Though, she wasn't entirely sure whether she would be able to hold off her breakdown until then. ' _If only Shizune was still around…_ ' she let herself fall into her field bed.

Naruto had once told her that the people of Amegakure had strange customs. That they were short tempered. The casual way in which Ajisai had brought up the issue of them fighting for the same man was… disturbing.

Still, when Ajisai had steered the conversation in that direction, Ino had been forced to reach her conclusion. She knew how Naruto was, even if his mind was scarred due to a chain of horrible experiences, she knew that his essence was still the same. He'd go through hell and back, beat up the Shinigami itself, for those he cared about. And that made hurting Ajisai impossible for Ino.

' _I care too much about Naruto to wish that the person he now loves most to get hurt,'_ Ino repeated her conclusion to herself. But what now? You cannot ungrow two trees that have developed a lean or grown unevenly because of a now-absent obstacle, to make them fine and straight again.

Oddly, the first person she related herself to was Sakura. Young as they had been at the time, Sakura had been oddly persistent, some would even say obsessive, with regard to her feelings for Uchiha Sasuke. And then Sasuke's older brother had snapped, and massacred the entire clan. Ino had seen up close how much Sakura had suffered.

Just like she knew, and had seen, how Tsunade suffered. But unlike Sakura, who, after some time, eventually gathered herself and moved on, Tsunade had never been able to let it go. Ever since Dan had died, Tsunade had never stopped grieving. Not until Naruto had somehow managed to wriggle his way into her broken heart, and had brought her back to Konoha. Yet even after that, Tsunade had been unable to deal with loss. Shizune had basically thrown away her own love life to support her broken teacher, never having bonded with anyone while she remained at Tsunade side.

' _Would I take my loss just as badly as Tsunade-sama did? Is that what I will become, a drunk who tries to escape her own past?'_

A Yamanaka was trained, from the very start, to have a very strong mind. Psychology training taught her that she first had to deal with her own emotions, before she could even consider delving into the minds of others. So she couldn't be that weak. Not when her father had said that she had the potential to eventually lead their clan. Would she lose all that because Naruto had returned as a changed person? Would she allow herself to become a broken person?

Hell no.

It was painful, but it was inevitable. She had to cope with the truth, no matter how hard it was. And she wouldn't become like Tsunade and linger in the past. What Naruto had experienced had left its scars on him, but he would live. He had been forced to move on, and had found happiness with Ajisai. He loved Ajisai, she had seen it in his eyes. If… if he could move on… ' _If Naruto can do it, so must I,'_ Ino cringed at her own thoughts, but knew that it was true. Either she allowed herself to wallow in her loss, or she'd stand up and move on.

' _I'll never forget, and I'll never need to, but… I loved you, Naruto-kun,'_ Ino felt the tears flow, and was glad she was all alone now. They had been happy, and she had so many fond memories of his mischief and trespasses. But that was it: they were memories. Loss, shame, and jealousy: Ino was better than that. She could see the folly of trying to hold her childhood love to any commitment. She'd only hurt herself by futilely trying to grab hold of what was no long there.

' _I'll free you from Zetsu. I swear it. I'll do everything I can to rescue you, but not for myself. I'll do it for you and for Ajisai.'_

* * *

Everything hurt. He could swear that his head was currently just a collection of lumps, with his white manes sticking out of the top. It hurt, but he knew he had it coming. Still, it was something he'd have to go through.

"Eye twolb you eye wab swobby!"

Whack!

"Err, I think he just said he was sorry, Ma," the little green toad sighed. "Could you please hand me my stick back?"

"Hmpf, fine," Shima grumbled. "But this ain't over yet!"

"Eye 'now," Jiraiya muttered, taking a few moments for himself to heal, so that he'd at least be able to talk normally again.

"When Bunta returned, telling us that you were battling Tsunade-chan, we thought you had finally lost it," Fukasaku sighed. "But ta old geezer insisted that he was still right, so… that's ta sole reason why we answered when you tried to summon us. I can't say I'm perfectly happy with yer explanation, though."

Shima harrumphed and seemed to struggle against the urge to smack Jiraiya again.

"I lost hope," Jiraiya said quietly. "After Minato and Kushina, after Sarutobi-sensei, after… I thought I had lost Naruto too. Then I found Nagato and Konan. Can you blame me for that? Nagato and Konan were the only bonds I had left, after Tsunade blamed me for Naruto's death. But now… all I want now is to see to it that my godson lives a better life than I did," the withered shinobi grimaced. "I was wrong with what I have done, I know. But now is not the time to linger on these things."

"We need ta find Naruto-chan," Shima agreed.

"And quickly," Fukasaku nodded. "If Naruto-chan is ta one to bring great revolution to ta world, we can't allow him ta be controlled by this 'Zetsu' figure. Even if there's a new person carrying ta rinnegan, she won't get ta time to grow strong 'nough to beat Naruto-chan by herself."

"Can I count on you two?"

"We won't retract ta summoning contract from you, no," Shima huffed. "But don't ya think for a moment that I'm done with ya, Jiraiya-chan!"

* * *

"Again."

She groaned affirmatively, though could barely keep herself standing up. Her legs trembled, feeling as thin as twigs. Her arms weren't doing much better. The injuries left by Pein piercings had been healed, but her body still ached. Those had not been your average type of injury, not even for someone as skilled as Tsunade. But she had to move. She had to succeed.

' _Naruto-kun,'_ the now orange haired Ajisai stared at her merciless teacher. What did a little pain and exhaustion matter to her when his life was at stake? Likewise, she had never truly wished for anyone to die, but for what happened to Fuyō, and what he was now doing to Naruto, Ajisai truly wanted to kill Zetsu. Well, she also wished that she could slaughter the men who had raped and murdered her sister, but she had never seen their faces, and they had most likely perished at Hanzō's hands, so… that felt different.

"Shinra Tensei," Ajisai forced all of her chakra outwards, trying to create a stronger force. The enormous boulder in front of her barely budged, though.

"Again," Konan repeated herself. She had warned Ajisai that this training would be harsh, so she didn't relent. The girl still had power within her, Konan was sure of that, so all she needed to do was to push her until that power manifested itself.

It wasn't very surprising that Ajisai had immediately shown that the abilities of the Animal Path were like a second nature to her. She had been 'created' for that purpose, so Konan suspected that Nagato had somehow optimized the girl for that path. So, with nothing left to teach her in that respect- although Jiraiya had lectured quite a bit on the matter of summoning and summoning contracts- Konan had moved on to what she saw as the two most important paths: Deva Path and Preta Path.

Deva Path covered both offense and defense, and Nagato had often proven how devastating it could be. Preta Path was perhaps even more important, considering how the ability to absorb chakra was the perfect counter against any ninjutsu, while also covering the greatest weakness which Ajisai had in comparison to Naruto: her chakra reserves. With the ability of the Preta Path she would be able to gather chakra and continue fighting, instead of running out of chakra and losing due to exhaustion. Still… Konan wasn't comfortable. Naruto had defeated Nagato, had found ways to best each of Nagato's abilities. Would the inexperienced Ajisai be able to make a difference?

"Shinra Tensei!" A crack appeared in the boulder, and it seemed like it was pushed back by another few inches. Ajisai fell to her knees, panting, but Konan was proud to see the girl quickly getting on her feet again, ready for yet another attempt.

These small moments of pride were a welcome distraction from the aching wound in her heart. While Nagato had strayed from his path, and she had part of the blame for not realizing this sooner, Konan felt terribly lonely without him. She had met Yahiko shortly after she had lost her parent in the wars, and soon after that they had met Nagato. The three of them had spent their time together, for a while also under the tutelage of Jiraiya, until Yahiko had perished. Since then Nagato had been the only constant in her life, for over twenty five years… and now he was gone.

She had thought of leaving Nagato's corpse in a hall, laying him out for his final rest within a sea of origami flowers. But she had decided against it, no matter how it pained her. Tsunade had transplanted Nagato's eyes (Konan refused to accept that Zetsu had somehow given them to him) but still there was no guarantee that Zetsu wouldn't be after Nagato's body. He had, after all, carried the rinnegan for over three decades. Although if one had looked at his body one would have thought that he had lived threefold that amount of years.

Still, regardless of her emotions Konan had not wanted to risk Zetsu learning anything, so she had given Nagato a true shinobi funeral: she had, together with Jiraiya, cremated Nagato's remains. No secrets were left behind. No trace of him… except the memories she held. Her last friend. The man who had given up his life to revive the girl in front of her, the girl who could have a chance at defeating Zetsu, although perhaps he had done it out of a sense of guilt as well. Even Konan couldn't tell. In his final moment, when the true depth of Zetsu's deception had come to light, Nagato had seemed oddly regretful. It was odd, because Konan had been there when Nagato had mercilessly slaughtered Hanzo and his bloodline…

"Again," Konan droned, seeing that Ajisai was leaning forward, her hands resting on her knees as if she was supporting herself.

"Yes," Ajisai panted. "I'll… never give… up."

"Is it vengeance you seek?"

Ajisai gave Konan a look, almost quizzically. It wasn't anger that controlled the girl. No, it was desperation.

"Nagato sometimes said that the abilities of the Deva Path were his favorite because they forced him to calm down," Konan informed her 'student'. "It isn't anger that distracts you, but the sadness you feel for Fuyō and the desperation because of Naruto will hold you back. Clear your mind of those desires. Calm yourself. Gravitation is, after all, a rather singular force. It cannot be harnessed when your resolve is fragile."

"I'll try, Konan-sensei," Ajisai nodded tiredly. "But… I can't say it will be easy," she admitted right after.

"Nothing in life that is worth anything will ever be easy," Konan smiled faintly before gesturing that Ajisai should try again.

Even if the younger girl wouldn't succeed right away with regard to the abilities of the Deva Path, this method had more than one purpose. Ajisai had to relearn how to control her chakra, as she needed to adapt to the way Nagato had altered her body and tenketsu. Konan was slightly amused by the fact that the girl still hadn't realized how much stronger she already was. Before her death her reserves had been only a fraction of what it was now, possibly just enough to last for three attempts at Shinra Tensei, rather than the over two dozen attempts that had passed now.

Beyond the different flow and amounts of chakra, there was also the issue that the nature of Ajisai's chakra had changed. The 'most exalted' amongst the three great dōjutsu offered its wielder, whether the eyes were transplanted or not, the ability to master any jutsu as well as all five nature transformations. While the rinnegan would not offer the insight of the byakugan, or the copying and predicting abilities of the sharingan, the power of the rinnegan was unsurpassed regardless. The key to its overwhelming power might be the Rikudō no Jutsu (Six Paths Technique), but its versatility with regard to ninjutsu was, even though often overlooked, a great advantage as well.

Jiraiya had lectured long and had explored many of the details which he had originally discussed with Nagato, back when the sennin had taken the three Ame orphans in his care. Nagato had struggled with control, as contradictory as it might sound, simply due to that versatility. Konan had never realized, back then, how Nagato had done it. It had seemed so simple, as if it was a 'free gift' from the dōjutsu.

But when she saw how Jiraiya showed Ajisai the five nature transformations, even though his mastery over raiton was rather poor, Konan was amazed that Ajisai could so easily replicate the flow of chakra and let the piece of paper in her hands ignite, cut, soak, wrinkle, or turn to dirt. Still, even though that step was easy enough to replicate, using real jutsu was a wholly different story. Ajisai needed to relearn her chakra control for that. The rinnegan allowed the girl to see, but not to effortlessly copy a jutsu. The true terror, in this regard, would be if one would wield both the rinnegan and sharingan at the same time.

Unfortunately, that was not the case for Ajisai. So, Konan had to push the girl to her limits if she wished to be of any use. She had failed to protect the girl once, but she wouldn't allow the girl to be harmed a second time. That was the least she owed Ajisai and Naruto. Konan swore to herself she'd do whatever she could to atone for Nagato's transgressions.

* * *

"That borders treason, Nara."

"If summing up several facts is treason, then we live in a village filled with traitors," Shikaku said offhandedly. "But don't tell me you haven't seen the same information, Hiashi."

The head of the Hyūga clan was wary of the head of the Nara clan. The intelligence of the latter made him a difficult person to deal with, even if the Nara clan had far less influence within the village. Neither, however, would risk challenging the Hokage office, though.

"Sightings of the boy are a poorly kept secret," Hiashi admitted.

"Exactly. Meanwhile, the Hokage has her strange story, in which she still seems to hide half the facts, and sends out as many of her Anbu in all directions," Shikaku was a bit annoyed that he had to waste the effort repeating himself, but unfortunately not everyone could process information as fast as a Nara. "And is it so unusual to think that he betrayed us? You heard his words: he had no interest in joining Konoha again."

"But with his power, it will be difficult to force him," Hiashi remained stoic. Whether the jinchūriki was a traitor or not, it would be something which would be difficult to change, as there didn't seem to be any shinobi in their village who would be able to defeat him.

"Individually, he is unmatched, but when we focus our efforts..." Shikaku drawled, wondering why the Hyūga didn't see it yet.

"Hokage-sama is locating the boy, after which she aims to force him back."

"Indeed," Shikaku successfully resisted the urge to throw his hands in the air and exclaim 'finally'. Then again, it was very well possible that the Hyūga was just playing a defensive role, withholding as much information as he possibly could. "That takes us to my other point: why are we wasting our power on a boy we cannot control, when the other nations are all too vulnerable to do anything against us?"

"Your agenda is known," Hyūga Hiashi had heard the Nara on this matter in the council meeting. Not that he disagreed on the matter, as it was easy to see that the current situation was in their favor, while the other four villages were either too weak or too distracted by (civil) war. He didn't think, however, that things would be all that easy. Sure, Iwagakure had lost a lot during the war on Amegarkure, most notably their Tsuchikage, but they still wouldn't be easily defeated. Kumogakure's misplaced desire to avenge their fallen Raikage and jinchūriki only made the matter more explosive.

"I'm aware you would rather stay out of that mess, I know. But don't you think we should take our responsibility?" Shikaku reasoned. "As long as the current system of the hidden villages is in place, conflict and war will continue to exist. While I disagreed on many points, Danzō was right that unifying the world under one rule would make things far more peaceful."

"Except that Shimaru Danzō wanted to unify the world under _his_ rule. Are you planning to do the same, Shikaku-san?" Hiashi's voice was icily cold. His dislike of the former village elder was well known.

"...I had presumed you were smarter than that, Hiashi," Shikaku sighed disappointedly. "But my actions are not for my own benefit. I merely see a chance to end this era of strife. Shodai-sama certainly made the world more peaceful than it had been in the era prior to him, but regardless of that the world still doesn't truly know peace. My sole interest in this situation is that I might leave a world to the next generations that is filled with fewer battles and wars than my world has been."

"So you intend to change the fate of the world," Hiashi frowned. Thoughtfully, he considered the possible benefits of that idea. A noble goal, surely, but he wondered how feasible it was. Still, if it was a Nara who came with the idea…

"It seems as if Tsunade-sama isn't acting in the best interest of the village. And this isn't the first time such a thing happens, if I am honest. Shizune has covered for a lot of her faults in these past years, as has Inoichi's daughter. This opportunity, however, is too great to leave in the hands of someone whose capability is already questionable. The letter she spoke of is even more questionable," Shikaku scowled. "Those promises and requests, even if they were made by the granddaughter of the former Tsuchikage, mean nothing as long as that girl holds no true power. We both know all too well that the promises of Iwagakure mean little."

"As much as we can trust Kumogakure," Hiashi had never forgotten their attempt to steal his daughter. An attempt which ended in the death of his brother, as the snakes had demanded compensation for the death of the kidnapper as well.

"Kumo's greed for power and bloodlines will never allow for peace. This is why I see the current situation as a chance: Kumo and Iwa will weaken each other during their war, which will leave us, if we are properly prepared, a perfect opportunity to eliminate both weakened armies."

"Except your proposal would never be passed while the Hokage opposes it, unless the majority of the clans is strong enough to overrule that decision," Hiashi knew all too well why Shikaku had come to him. "I take it that this is also why you have visited the Aburame and the Inuzuka?"

The sly smile was enough of an answer. "One last thing, Hiashi… there is something going on just outside Konoha. Inoichi couldn't get an answer from Ino, but I heard some disturbing rumors. Do you know something about this? What they are doing?"

"I do not," Hiashi kept his pokerface in perfect shape.

"Your nephew, Neji, is part of the squad that was assigned to guard-"

"Whether he is a member of my clan or not, I do not break the chain of command by ordering him to spill the contents of a classified mission," Hiashi began to lose his cool a little. What was the Nara thinking? If a clan head would reason like that, the village would collapse within a generation. Such a crude violation of the authority of the Hokage would in turn invite the Hokage to violate the authority, and quite possible even the autonomy, of the clans. No, this request was going several steps too far. Traditions were there because they had many years of proof that they worked. That balance had to be maintained.

"My apologies."

"I give the current state of the world a lot of thought," Hiashi said in such a manner that even the Nara knew that it was time to hurry up and leave.

Shikaku hoped that he had convinced the Hyūga. This needed to be done. War was wrong, yes, but he gladly sinned if it meant that his children or grandchildren would never be forced to do battle. They were the ones who were important, not him. Shikaku knew very well that his current generation was too caught up in old feuds and petty grudges. If nothing else, the war against Amegakure had opened his eyes. Tsunade dreamt of alliances and friendships, but Shikaku had seen how fragile those dreams were. All it took was a little confusion, and friends would cut down friends. And it took even less for allies to turn on each other.

That, along with the multiple reports that Uzumaki Naruto had been sighted leaving the battlefield and traveling through the country, had convinced Shikaku that Tsunade was wrong. And Shikaku would rather be damned as a traitor than let the future generations pay the price for her foolishness. Her depression and alcoholism had already rendered her incompetent, in his view, but in this mad quest to chase a supposedly 'possessed' jinchūriki was nothing but a waste. Shikaku had seen Naruto well enough that no simple spy would be able to control him. Besides, none of the reported sightings spoke of half of Naruto body being covered in a black substance.

To Shikaku, it seemed more likely that after the defeat of Pein, and the defection of Naruto, Pein's lieutenant had somehow manipulated Tsunade's frail mind. Why else would she have let that woman live? Why else did she allow that woman to do some sort of training just outside the village? Why else would she not have taken measures to punish Jiraiya? That man had been part of Akatsuki according to some very confidential information that Shikaku had gathered. Tsunade made a mistake by ignoring this opportunity and wasting resources on a runaway jinchūriki. The logical mind of the Nara saw too many connections to ignore the pattern. Every bit of new information only reinforced that idea.

Sadly, he couldn't thoroughly check every source of information. A shortcoming which, in spite of Shikaku's good intentions, was happily exploited by Zetsu…

* * *

"I'm not handicapped, you know."

"I know, but I still like doing this."

"It's not like it serves a point."

"Why not? Because you're constantly training? Even then you have the right to look at your best. Besides, I like doing this."

"Thanks, Suiren."

"Don't mention it," the green-haired girl shrugged. While she had little interest in her own appearance, as she regarded herself to be unattractive due to the scars on the lower half of her face, Suiren still found it oddly relaxing to mess around with hair. She often had aided Fuyō with it, since Fuyō usually lacked the patience to pay too much attention to it- and the two had lived near each other anyway. "Besides, there isn't much I can do for you, so could you please leave me this?"

"Okay, I give up," Ajisai giggled. "But you're doing far more than just that, Suiren. You're my friend. Without you… losing Fuyō is difficult enough as it is. I don't know if I could've gone through with all this if not…"

"Of course you could," Suiren was strangely upbeat about it, and Ajisai knew that the girl only tried to improve her mood. "You've got Naruto to fight for, right? Now, I've finished your hair, let's get something to eat. Ino was busy with breakfast, and I'm hungry."

* * *

They watched as the orange-haired girl stepped out of the tent, with the green-haired girl following. This little camp was just outside Konoha, far enough to avoid unwanted attention yet close enough for Konoha's forces to swoop in and aid when needed. Also close enough for the four of them to locate the place quickly enough.

They had all lost friends, teammates, or family in this futile war. Amegakure had been defeated, subjugated, and Akatsuki had been eliminated. Or so they thought. The Anbu that had warned them had been right. The blue haired woman they saw, peacefully enjoying breakfast with the orange- and green-haired girls, as well as the Yamanaka girl, she was the right hand of Akatsuki's leader. None of the four had actually seen her during the battle, but many jōnin had gotten a global description that would have enabled them to spot the members of Akatsuki.

Konan, Amegakure's 'angel'. Why was she here? Why would the Hokage allow that murderer to remain so close to their village? And Pein, Akatsuki's leader, was said to have orange hair. Was the girl they saw down there related to him? A daughter?

They didn't care. All they saw were the people they had lost to Akatsuki. A surprise attack, swift and deadly, even if they were merely chūnin they knew that these villains would be caught off guard. Even if that only led to the deaths of one or two of them…

A green blur went past them. A second blur followed. The kunai, with A-grade explosive tags at the ready, were suddenly gone from their hands. A whistle-like sound which they were all too familiar with- the sound of kunai flying through the air- reached their ears. All four scattered, without even looking at each other. All four, however, found that there was no escaping the kunai. There were too many and were thrown too accurately to dodge.

"How unyouthful," a green-clad boy sighed, looking down at the four gravely injured men.

"They deserved no less, Lee," a larger version, with the same haircut and green abomination of a leotard, boomed. "We gave them all the time and room to back away, but instead they drew their kunai. They were about to attack, so they were traitors."

"It is a bit disappointing," a brown-haired girl who had her hair styled in two buns landed next to the two. "Neji's already sending word to Tsunade-sama about this. Why would these fools try something like this, sensei?"

"There is no easy answer, Tenten," Maito Gai was unusually serious. "There are many people within the village who are consumed by a desire to avenge our fallen. Who rather wish for war, even when those who were to blame for the previous war have perished. It worries me how many rather discard peace, favoring war. It shames me that even I… when fighting Akatsuki I could only think of Kakashi," Gai grimaced. "It shows that I need to train harder. Because, my students, it wasn't the risk of losing _my_ life that worried me, but it was that my failure forced you to enter my battle."

"But Sensei, we-"

"No, Lee. Listen to what I want to say," Gai grabbed Lee by the shoulders and shook him. "Never let yourself be consumed by the desire to avenge those who have already passed away. Fight for those who are alive, to protect them however you can. These men lost the springtime of their youth because they saw only what they had lost, rather than what they still had."

"Yes, Sensei," Lee saluted, although Tenten had serious doubts whether Lee truly understood. She'd probably need to smack the information through that thick skull of his in the near future. On the other hand, considering what Neji had gone through, before he had bettered his life after the first Chūnin Exams in which they had participated, the team was already supposed to know this lesson.

"Sensei, I'll go down to inform them of the situation. Suiren is a sensor, and knowing Konan-san she's aware of this too, so I guess it is for the best to tell them how we resolved this."

"Very well, Tenten," Gai nodded. "Lee, go the vantage point on the other side and keep watch, I will wait for Neji to return."

"Yes, Gai-sensei," both chūnin chimed. Tenten sped towards the four kunoichi who were enjoying their breakfast. Although the lack of surprise made it obvious to her that none of them had failed to notice the little skirmish.

"Four shinobi from Konoha tried to attack, our team neutralized them," Tenten reported. "Neji and Gai-sensei will ensure that these men are brought to T&I."

"It was to be expected that people would try this," Konan focused on her food again. "Though it wasn't like four chūnin level shinobi would have stood a chance, even against Ajisai alone."

"Perhaps if they had gotten the element of surprise," Suiren shrugged. "It seems they didn't even consider the possibility that one of us would be a sensor. And I thought the shinobi from Amegakure were too hotheaded."

Tenten laughed and then excused herself, before she could leave, however, Konan halted her. "Would you perhaps be willing to help us in Ajisai's training, Tenten-san?"

"Help?" the weapon mistress blinked. "Me? How would I be able to help?"

"Aren't you carrying Samehada ever since Kisame died?"

"Yeah," Tenten frowned. "When I tried to give Same-chan to Tsunade-sama she attacked her."

"Same-chan?" Konan looked up from her food, surprise showing in spite of her usually stoic demeanor. "Kisame mentioned that Samehada was a sentient blade, who picked its wielders. We always assumed that the blade was attracted to the chakra of people, but… apparently we were wrong."

"Yeah, I'm not much a chakra-monster, I know. Thanks," Tenten deadpanned.

"She's more of a weapons-nerd," Ino supplied, making Tenten scowl. "Tenten can wield any weapon she touches, even if it is one of Kirigakure's legendary blades. I swear she has half of Konoha's armory stocked within her seals."

"You're exaggerating, Ino," the girl huffed. "Anyway, Same-chan doesn't like it when others touch her. She's still sad about Kisame."

"I understand," Konan nodded calmly. "But I am not asking you to give up Samehada. I'm asking if you are will to help with training Ajisai. Samehada has the ability to absorb chakra, quite similar to the abilities of the Preta Path. With the restriction in time, seeing and feeling Samehada's chakra absorption could prove to be a valuable shortcut in Ajisai's training."

"You want me to use Samehada against Ajisai? Well, if you say so," Tenten looked at Ajisai, who nodded affirmatively, before she agreed.

While the Konoha council had chosen Gai's team to guard their 'guests', they had not been aware of the bonds between the team and the two younger kunoichi from Amegakure. Gai had been selected because he was one of the only jōnin within Konoha who'd be strong enough to defeat a former member of Akatsuki, and his team had gathered a lot of recognition as well. Unfortunately, they weren't looking at the foreign kunoichi with the same distrust as the council, considering how they had already met.

The Chūnin Exams in Sunagekure had led to a strange chain of events where Lee and Neji had been forced to cooperate with Fuyō and Suiren, after Tenten and Ajisai had been trapped in a collapsed underground system. In spite of the animosity between the two teams, they had managed to look past their grudges and survived the obstacles they had been facing together. While they weren't exactly the best of friends, that had grown a certain level of respect. It had also led to Ajisai somewhat changing her views about foreign shinobi.

In spite of his rather unusual behavior, Maito Gai was very well aware of this conflict in interests. So he had kept his team separated from the kunoichi they were guarding, aiming to keep things professional enough. After all, if the council figured that Gai's team was too friendly with what they perceived as possible hostiles, they would assign a different team. A different team who would likely mess up. And with what Tsunade had confided to him, Gai considered Ajisai and Konan to be too important to antagonize.

With all the uncertainty within the world, as wars were looming in three of the surrounding nations, Tsunade had to be very careful. The exact details on Naruto's disappearance had thus been kept to a need-to-know basis, especially after the council had voiced its skepticism regarding Naruto. Gai, however, was convinced by Tsunade's side of the story: that Naruto had been taken by Zetsu. With all the tensions, the aid of Konan and the new wielder of the rinnegan would be invaluable in their quest to liberate Naruto- or in the worst case to stop the mokuton user from causing too much havoc.

Even with all eight of his gates, Maito Gai had his doubts whether he would be able to defeat the power he had felt on the battlefield. But if he, Jiraiya, and Tsunade could get the aid of Konan and Ajisai, their odds would improve drastically.

Unfortunately, politics were rarely a youthful business. People rather denied the existence of a threat, when they saw other opportunities that suited their interest better.

* * *

"Any idea where he has taken us?"

" **I told you** ," the reply came tersely, " **that I only get vague impressions. I try to suppress my chakra as much as I possibly can, after all**."

"Yeah, or else he'd be able to use it… this sucks. Is there nothing we can do?"

" **No. And yes, this situation is definitely not optimal. But if I had not taken us here, the consequences would have been even worse**."

"How strong is he?"

" **Right now? Even with that stuff he's using to amplify his power he is still weaker than you were when I aided you**."

"Ugh… I still can't believe we lost like that."

" **He outsmarted us all.** "

They remained silent, until Naruto once again got bored by the silence and the absolute nothingness of this realm. This 'deeper level of consciousness', as Kurama had explained it, was nothing more than a limitless and dark area where only a single source of light existed. It was boring. And Naruto's boredom aggravated a certain enormous nine-tailed fox who was trying to look like he was asleep.

" **Kokuō's chakra is weak, it won't be much longer** ," Kurama grumbled. " **That greedy bastard took nearly a quarter tail worth of chakra in the moment I peeked through the seal, though**."

"Kokuō?"

" **The Gobi, the five-tails** ," Kurama sighed. " **His jinchūriki will die soon. I think six days have passed in the outside world, so things are progressing faster than I would have liked.** "

"Dammit," Naruto added a few more words which no underage child should hear or read. The times when he had met Kisame and Hidan had certain expanded his vocabulary, and not in the good way.

" **There is the possibility that those Akatsuki idiots had already started the sealing before this war started** ," Kurama pondered. " **In that case we'd still have less than a month until Zetsu is finished**."

"I hope the others find us quickly."

" **It would be… preferable**."

"See, even you can't hate every human," Naruto smiled. Kurama frowned before he opened his large red eyes.

" **Don't speak of things you know nothing about**."

"I'm aware that I know little. You're the one with centuries of experience, so you have far more wisdom than I have. So, teach me!"

"… **I doubt anything can cure your ignorance** ," Kurama sighed. " **But I suppose it will be less irritating than having to witness your boredom for another month**."

The fox moved until he was lying in position that allowed him to look at the boy with both eyes. For a jinchūriki, the brat was definitely unusual. Then again, Mito and Kushina had treated him like an enemy, binding him down, whereas Naruto seemed to view him as an equal. The boy's offer of letting Kurama free once he reached his goals was even more unusual. The extraction killed a jinchūriki. But this boy seemed to care little about his own death. This lack of self-preservation was not what Kurama was used to seeing in mankind.

" **Humans are usually selfish and prone to act solely in their own self-interest** ," Kurama sighed. " **Take you, for example. Even when you knew that Akatsuki's goals were wrong, you still hunted and killed another jinchūriki… why?** "

"You already know," Naruto sighed, not too happy to be reminded of that.

" **Because you put the life of the girl you loved over that of the other humans** ," Kurama ignored Naruto's annoyance. " **That is the fundamental flaw of humanity: you discriminate between things. That which you consider 'yours', you consider to be more important than that of another, and you'll protect it at the cost of others, which is how conflicts arise.** "

"I suppose you're right. I indeed did something bad, simply because I feared that if I didn't do it Ajisai would be harmed. Although, I also considered that the cost of not doing what I did had resulted in even more needless deaths."

" **A noble statement, but we both know that the girl was your first concern** ," the fox shook his head. " **But it is pointless to argue about the details. The result is the same. It always is. I've seen it happen, over and over again. Humans often do bad things out of good intentions. Wars which start because one of the parties thinks that peace can only exist when the other group is annihilated. Etcetera, etcetera,** "Kurama sighed." **It becomes quite boring after a while, to tell the truth.** **The predictability of it all is just… saddening.** "

"How often have you seen this happen?"

" **I told you that it was the Rikudō Sennin who created me, out of the Jūbi, did I not?** "

"Yeah. The Sage of the Six Paths, who defeated the Jūbi, sealed it within himself, created you guys, and was the one who practically founded the shinobi world."

" **It seems you have a better memory than I expected you to have** ," Kurama chuckled, not able to resist riling the boy up a little. " **You could consider him my 'father', and he… he strived to make the world a peaceful place. But as strong as he was, he never truly succeeded. He did not know why, but in the end there were always those who rather created conflict to gain that which they desired. His presence alone prevented conflicts from escalating, but, in time, just like any other human, he grew old and died. He had two sons, human sons that is,** " he added, before Naruto could make any weird assumptions. " **Before we set out into the world, we resided in the inner world of our father, much like I do within yours right now. We saw… the younger son showed a path of love and forgiveness, one which our father believed to be able to lead to a world of peace.** "

"The way you're saying this… this went wrong, didn't it?"

" **The Rikudō Sennin named his younger son as his heir, but the elder son objected. He was more powerful, and believed himself to offer a better solution to the conflicts in the world. He wanted to use force to bring peace to the world. Obviously, that led to a conflict between the two.** "

"The elder one won, I take it?" Naruto guessed, taking the current state of the world in consideration, as well as what he knew about the history of how the world had been before Hashirama founded the era of the hidden villages.

" **Wrong, the younger son was victorious**."

"Eh? But you said-"

" **That he believed love and forgiveness was the answer** ," Kurama nodded. " **Indeed he did, but it changed little. In spite of all his efforts, mankind never ceased to be in conflict. It is a part of their nature to create conflict. Misunderstanding will always arise, and conflict will also ensue. Whether people try it through good or bad intentions, no one can ever stop that cycle**."

"Then what you're saying is that my promise to Aji-chan…"

" **As long as there are humans, there will be conflict. True peace is impossible, and I dare say it is even something you shouldn't long for. A world without conflict is a utopia that will always be out of your reach.** "

"You're just saying that because you gave up!" Naruto sputtered, although deep down he knew… he had reached that conclusion long ago: humans only had limited comprehension. As a species, he had to acknowledge that they were either too arrogant or too oblivious. Oblivious, as they did not seem to realize how little they truly understood of the world. This was arrogance, because they replaced their doubts and confusions with foolish beliefs, fearing the state of not-knowing; preferring to be misguided over being unknowing.

" **No, brat… I'm saying that because no matter what anyone tried, no matter how strong the one who tried, mankind always created new conflicts. Through the ages, I mostly wandered alone. But sometimes I sensed places in the world with so many negative emotions that I attacked. I wiped it out, cleansing the world of that evil. But rather than thanking me, mankind feared me. Although that fear was more interesting than the foolish idea they had before that. Not until Madara did anyone manage to capture me…** "

Naruto frowned. "Are things really that bad? I thought-"

" **You thought you were doing good too** ," Kurama interrupted. " **But look at what you helped creating. I too thought that stopping Akatsuki was the right thing to do, and look at us now! We played right into Zetsu's hands!** "

That gave Naruto some pause. Yes, what he had done had led to more bad than good, he didn't even want to try to deny that. His efforts to bring peace had led to war, their efforts to halt Akatsuki had given opportunity to Zetsu, and all the people who perished due to their actions… so many had died in the war. And yet it were those who had died due to Naruto's own actions that pained him most: Ajisai, Fū, Guren, or that poor Yamanaka woman- none of them had needed to die. None of them would have died if he had done the right thing.

But what was the right thing?

Life and death were interlinked. Saving one life often meant that another would be lost. All life consumed the remnants of other life, in whatever form, to grow and sustain itself. It was a march of progress that led in no particular direction, or at least no direction which any limited human would ever comprehend. Was peace the same thing? Was this what Kurama was trying to tell him? That the desire for peace was just like trying to save a life, that it would bring war and death?

"I don't know anymore," Naruto sighed, his mind straining in a futile attempt to comprehend that paradox. "What is good? What is evil?"

" **I think the younger son of the Rikudō Sennin was correct in one thing: it takes cooperation between people to overcome seemingly impossible obstacles. It might not lead to a perfect world, but cooperation at least leads to a better world than one where people attempt to pursue their interests individually** ," Kurama spoke in earnest, although Naruto heard an odd tremor in his voice: Kurama was just as uncertain as much as he was! He, who had witnessed humanity for centuries, honestly did not know a better solution. It humbled Naruto, and more than anything it gave him a clear impression of how incredibly difficult it was to find a good solution. " **Although cooperation has advantages and disadvantages, of course. The advantage being that there is less conflict.** "

"And the disadvantage?"

" **What do you think?** " Kurama scowled. " **If humans band together yet still get into conflict, the scale of that conflict is far greater than when there is conflict between two individuals. Still, in a world where people unite in groups, there is less chaos. The ability to pursue individual greed is limited more.** "

"But it is no solution, as conflict would still exist. No, worse: the solution of the younger son only introduced the notion of war, did it not?"

" **What makes you think that humanity wasn't well acquainted with war already, long before father changed the world?** " Kurama laughed mirthlessly.

"I see," Naruto felt exhausted. "So the conflict between the two sons was irrelevant. At least, with regard to finding a path to peace."

" **You are naïve, boy,** " Kurama shook his massive head, although his voice was surprisingly gentle. " **It was not irrelevant, I never said it was. But it was merely one more step on a long road. Do not blind yourself by thinking you can reach the destination with a single step. He, like the Rikudō Sennin before him, knew very well that his dream would be impossible to realize. And yet he persisted. The only thing I can really hold against him was his naivety. His trust and forgiveness ruined everything he tried to build, as he didn't stop mankind from straying from the path he laid out for them. You, of all people, should know that love and trust lead to mistakes just as well as greed and strive.** "

"It is because we're all biased and limited, only thinking from our own perspectives," Naruto agreed with the less than happy conclusion. "It seems that was our downfall as well. We only saw Pein as the real threat, underestimating what Zetsu could do. Then I let my rage get the better of me, blocking you out…"

" **Neither of us saw it coming,** " Kurama admitted. " **Your promise to bring a world of peace was admirable, but ultimately stupidly naïve. Especially since you, deep down, knew better.** "

"Hey, at least I managed to get the mighty Kyūbi, the supposed embodiment of hatred and evil, to talk with me," Naruto chuckled lightly, showing some of his old bravado. "Even if we're about to die, I'm glad I managed to do that. I'm glad I don't have to die alone."

" **Tsk**."

"I'm sorry, Kurama," Naruto's mood just as suddenly shifted back to being completely serious. "To me this'll only mean death, and I'll go to the afterlife, hopefully rejoining Ajisai and my family, but you… my failure will mean you'll suffer a fate worse than death. I know it means little to you, and you'll likely say that it is bullshit anyway, but still I want to apologize for my failure. I never wanted this to happen to anyone, least of all to one of my friends."

Zetsu had only won by the smallest of margins. Now the parasitic creature could just leech off Kurama's chakra, growing stronger if he'd try to break free. Due to the nature of the seal that held him back, combined with the suppressing qualities of mokuton, Kurama couldn't instantly burst his full power through. Not without killing Naruto, at least. And since Naruto's death would leave him at Zetsu's mercy, Kurama knew that there was no easy way out. No, he didn't blame the boy. Kurama blamed himself. If only he had seen this coming. If only he had been a little stronger…

"… **we both failed, Naruto,** " Kurama said softly, after have remained silent for a few seconds.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Ino's part in the chapter brought me quite a few headaches. I wanted her to get some closure, while not creating some sort of dramatic sob story out of it, so… it was hard to put into words. Ironically my intentions were easily captured in one word, the title of this chapter, but writing it out was far more challenging. But eventually I did manage to write down what I wanted. A big thank-you needs to be given to my former beta who was willing to give me his opinion on the matter. I even shamelessly copy-pasted some of your words, **Illuminated** , so your influence lives on!

Ino has moved on, even while she's sad about it she accepted the truth and was mature enough to deal with it. I know that some of you wished for me to somehow add her to the Naruto/Ajisai pairing, but… that wasn't what I had in mind. That's why I never advertised this story as a Naruto/Ino one, and I think I hinted enough that it wouldn't happen either, so I hope no one is left disappointed.

'till the next chapter, and please leave **reviews**! (Or Tenten will swing Same-chan at ya ;-)

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	22. Options

_I hope you all enjoy your 10k large Christmas gift!_

* * *

 **Asunder**

 **Chapter Twenty Two**

 **Options**

* * *

" _Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it."_

― J.M. Barrie

* * *

"Do you still feel them?"

"Only a little. It doesn't nearly hurt as much as when I first awoke."

"Of course they wouldn't. Those wounds were very unusual, even Tsunade-sama had issues healing those wounds. And they were just closed at that time, so I suppose pain was to be expected."

"And my eyes?"

"There is no sign of rejection," Ino smiled. "I don't think this will become an issue either, not after two weeks of such training. The only thing you should be careful about it that you shouldn't push your chakra pathway system too far. Seriously, you would've ruptured your tenketsu if you didn't have me around to patch you up every day."

"Thank you," Ajisai smiled, although even that movement seemed to ache. Another full day of training. Another day where Konan pushed her beyond her limits. But Ajisai knew it had to be done. And, luckily, she felt her power grow. Not as fast as she hoped, though. Aside from training, it were her emotions that distracted her. Losing Fuyō, reuniting with Suiren, training with Tenten, gaining acceptance from Konan, all those things mixed in with the overwhelming sense of panic she felt when she thought about Naruto.

There was one thing that stood out, though. There was one thing that didn't make any sense to her, simply because she couldn't understand why Ino would be so… so… _accepting._

"Can I ask you something?" Ajisai halted Ino before she could walk out of the tent in which Ajisai stayed. She had intended to let Ajisai rest, while she would help Suiren with preparing this evening's meal. Konan, meanwhile, was off to wherever Konans go.

"Sure?" Ino wasn't certain why Ajisai would ask permission to ask a question. Not unless it was something private. And Ino wasn't too sure she'd like to discuss the subject which Ajisai would undoubtedly bring up.

"Why?"

"Why what?" the blonde blinked.

"I'm a rival, am I not? Why can you be so friendly? I can understand that you heal me and keep me in the best possible condition for training, because that's the mission that was assigned to you, but… why would you even care?"

"What would you have done if Naruto had fallen in love with me during the time you were dead?" Ino countered bluntly. "Do you think violence would solve anything?"

"I… no… but…"

"If I harmed you, and we managed to free Naruto, would you think he'd forgive me?" Ino smiled sadly. "Naruto might have changed, and after all he's been through he's not the same I once knew, but I know he'd still react the same way. He'd be furious. I don't even need to doubt it, because I've seen it before, when Zetsu tricked him."

"I… suppose," Ajisai mumbled. "But still, I wouldn't be able to… give up."

"Naruto is still a person who is very precious to me, Ajisai. His happiness is more important to me than my own selfishness," the Yamanaka took a seat. "I had to accept that Naruto moved on. And after what he's been through, I can't blame him. Nor can I blame you. You were there for him when he needed you. That's how things work, how life is, and I just have to deal with that."

"So you're not angry?"

"Angry against whom? At myself, for not being there instead of you? At Naruto, because he disappeared and forgot about me? At Zetsu, for causing all this?" Ino shook her head. "No, that would be pointless. Things happened. All that matters now is that we save Naruto, and _end_ Zetsu. As for me… the logical part of my mind tells me I lost Naruto years ago. He changed, I changed, and now I just have to accept and move on like he did."

"It can't be that easy to discard your feelings."

"…who said it was easy," Ino sighed. "But even if my parents call me a clover, I feel more like a yellow tulip," the Yamanaka admitted. The latter flower symbolized one-sided love. And she didn't want to be associated with such a flower. The clover, however, was associated with luck, and Ino couldn't say she had felt very lucky these past few years.

"Erm… what?" the orange-haired girl blinked in confusion.

"Considering your name I assumed you were acquainted with hanakotoba (the language of flowers)."

"Naruto-kun had several books on flowers, some of which I read while he was training in Ame," Ajisai shrugged. "As such, I know that the flower I'm named after, the hydrangea, symbolizes pride. Personally, I think the 'infinite sorrows' moniker of the allium has been more befitting of me, though."

All of a sudden the union-like hairstyle that the other girl seemed to prefer made sense to her, though Ino still felt the urge to correct the lack of knowledge. "The ajisai, or hydrangea, might symbolize pride, but it is quite the oversimplification. Flowers usually have various meanings. The hydrangea also symbolizes an energetic girl, for instance. But from what I've seen so far, I think 'coldness' is the best interpretation. The hydrangea is considered to be beautiful, but also a bit cold."

"…"

"I didn't mean to criticize you," Ino saw the look of the rinnegan bearer. "It's just… you know, from what Naruto and Suiren told me before, it seemed to me like you were a bit distant and cold before you fell in love with him."

"I suppose you're not wrong," Ajisai admitted. "How do you know all this stuff?"

"Well, I _did_ work in my parents' flower shop for years, so of course I'd know about that," Ino huffed. "I might not be a complete expert, like Kaa-san is, but I know my flowers." With that she stood up and left to help Suiren. Ajisai, however, remained in the tent for a while, pondering about Ino's words.

Botan, the peony, was a flower that stood symbol for nobility, respect, and good fortune, as well as bravery, daring, and honor. That one was the only flower that Ajisai had remembered properly from the book which Naruto had lent her. At the time she had taken an interest in that literature because she was rather bored- Naruto had spent most of his time in meditation, leaving her with little else to do than taking care of their food.

The nobility aspect had drawn her interest because she felt like Naruto had possessed a certain noble quality in the way he acted. Not noble in the sense that he acted like an uptight aristocrat, but rather in the way he remained humble even though he stood way above the vast majority of the shinobi in the world. Ironically, it turned out that he was the son of a Hokage, which actually made him nobility of sorts.

Ajisai sighed.

Dealing with Ino had made her tenser than she had anticipated. The reason was simple: Naruto. ' _I'm a bit too possessive of Naruto-kun, am I not? Or is that normal? But the thought of Naruto-kun being with another woman…'_ the mere thought made her feel an anger which she had never felt before.

Yes, it was more or less customary that rivalries with regard to love were decided with violence, either hidden or openly, if neither of the parties would back off. While this usually was a matter between males of equal standing who both laid a claim on the same woman, it also happened the other way around. The people of Amegakure were a bit harsh in this contrast, Ajisai knew that, but still she couldn't imagine herself to ever let go of Naruto. As such, she also found it hard to imagine that Ino could let go of him, as Ajisai had clearly seen how sincere the blonde was.

' _But for Ino… if I had been dead for several years, and was brought back, things would be different too. When she last saw Naruto, he was a boy. But after what Zetsu and Kakuzu did, Naruto changed. For Ino, that must hurt most,'_ she bit her trembling lip. ' _Could the same happen between Naruto and me, because of what Zetsu has done this time? Getting him back and finding out that he's no longer the Naruto I know?'_

She stared at the roof, wondering what she would do if she'd lose Naruto. Would she be capable of accepting such a thing? Her heart said 'hell no', but her head… her head told her to respect Ino, for her decision must have required a lot of maturity and mental strength. Ajisai couldn't see herself letting go of Naruto without falling apart.

' _It seems that, besides Naruto and Tenten, there is a third person from Konoha whom I can respect.'_

* * *

Staring into the little fire on which he was preparing his fish, Jiraiya felt old. Older than ever, actually. In a sense, this was worse than the time after Tsunade had blamed him for Naruto's death. Back then, he had no purpose, no goal in life, only feeling a deep bitterness that poisoned his entire mind. To the point that he heard Nagato's ideals, and couldn't find himself to disagree.

He sighed.

A world where people would be scared into peace. A world where there would not be broken people like him, or those dearest to him. In hindsight, it was so easy to think that the sacrifice of the few was worth it as long as it was for the benefit of the many. But truly, it was only his own selfishness, his own pain, which led him to agree.

"Yeah, I was stupid," he mumbled to himself. He grabbed a twig and poked in the fire. "I should've continued searching for Naruto, rather than lose hope."

He took his fish and ate in silence. He'd travelled through the lands during these past two weeks, without a real sign of Naruto. There were some reports of people who had seen Naruto, but every time Jiraiya had investigated those claims they turned out to be false. Well, it had been 'Naruto', but simply not the real one. This was Zetsu playing tricks on them, trying to distract and scatter his pursuers. To Jiraiya, that was a sign of vulnerability.

If Zetsu's hold over Naruto had been absolute, he wouldn't have hidden. There simply would not have been a need to hide. Naruto alone would have been strong enough, even in his weakened condition, to completely annihilate the allied forces. Then again, Konan had mentioned that Nagato had seen how Zetsu had only barely gained control over Naruto.

In that line of reasoning, Jiraiya could see two vulnerabilities in Zetsu's control. The first vulnerability in Zetsu's plan was that in combat, Zetsu would have to exhaust his own chakra in order to manipulate Naruto. If forced to fight for extended periods of time, and presuming that Naruto's vast chakra supply would outlast that of the parasite, Jiraiya thought that Naruto would have a fair chance at forcing Zetsu out of his body. Especially if the Kyūbi was as cooperative as Tsunade had said.

Still, there were some pretty big disadvantages to this strategy. Naruto's mokuton was too dangerous. Although Jiraiya doubted that Zetsu could use Naruto's senjutsu to amplify his abilities, Naruto was still dangerous enough without it. ' _If Fukasaku-sama and Shima-sama back me up, I would probably stand a chance to at least hold him of for a while, but then there is still the matter of the Gedō Mazō. No one knows how strong that thing is. Even worse, what would we do if Zetsu gets the Jūbi back?'_

There were too many unknowns to risk a direct confrontation. Especially with the chaos that was unfolding in the world. Through his network, Jiraiya got many detailed reports. Apparently Iwagakure had chosen the granddaughter of the former Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, as the provisional leader of their forces. From what he read in his reports, Jiraiya knew that this young woman was more skilled than her age suggested, both in ninjutsu and in the political side of her job. Moreover, she seemed honest in her desire for peace. The latter was still pointless, though, as Iwa's council remained in charge of the village with regard to the normal state of affairs, in the absence of an official Tsuchikage. Kurotsuchi would lead Iwa's forces against the invading forces of Kumogakure, but her mandate did not give her much say when it came to diplomatic relationships.

On the other side of the land map, Kirigakure's Mizukage had her hands tied with an insurrection that was undoubtedly instigated by Zetsu. Former loyalists, those who still believed that Yagura's policies with regard to kekkei genkai were justified, had banded together. Likewise, there were groups of shinobi who could not let go of their grudges, and had demanded of Mei that she'd persecute those who had been on Yagura's side during the last civil war. In short: Kirigakure was paralyzed, and for each knot which Mei unraveled, two more surfaced.

Sunagakure was the only village without internal conflict, but they too had been rendered weak, to the point that Suna's forces could not afford to do much more than focus on their defenses. With the chaos brewing around them, the Kazekage had decided that they were too weak to involve themselves in foreign affairs. Not until it was clear which party would be victorious, at least. Jiraiya could respect the shrewdness of Temari, especially after he had first seen her as a young and inexperienced kunoichi.

In the end, the only thing about the whole chaos that mattered to Jiraiya was the fact that he couldn't expect any reinforcements from the other villages. And if what Tsunade just wrote him was right, the Konoha council was about to get a majority vote in favor of ignoring Iwagakure's proposed alliance, opting to invade the country _after_ Kumogakure had decimated Iwa's forces. While Jiraiya agreed that it was unlikely that Kumo would succeed with their impetuous assault on Iwa, it was foolish, cowardly even, of Konoha to exploit that moment of weakness. Even against a crippled Iwa, Konoha would have to sacrifice a great number of forces if it wanted to end the war victoriously.

Those idiots refused to see that they'd need all the shinobi they could muster, if Zetsu succeeded in reviving the Jūbi…

So it was imperative that Jiraiya would find Zetsu, that he created a window of opportunity for them to stop Zetsu before the creature could unleash the Jūbi on the world. All the petty grievances would be rendered to waste if that being rampaged through their world. Sadly, while they had united against Amegakure, the villages were now more divided than ever before.

"Jiraiya," a small toad popped into existence.

"Kosuke."

"I bring reports from our scouts," the red toad put down a collection of scrolls. "I'll warn the Nidaisengame (Two Great Sage Toads) that they'll have to reverse summon you. So pack your stuff."

"Fine," Jiraiya muttered, before the toad disappeared again. "If Pa and Ma are going to summon me, I'm sure they found something with regard to Naruto's location. Damn… that means I'll probably have to exploit the second weakness in Zetsu's plan. It would've been nice if I could've stuck with the first option, but as things are now it would be a mistake to fight him head on."

* * *

Daily 'training' with Tenten and Samehada had improved Ajisai's mastery in Preta Path drastically, to the point where even Konan seemed somewhat satisfied- although Ajisai found it very hard to figure out whether Amegakure's Tenshi-sama was satisfied or not. Deva Path was more difficult. Ajisai could push things away, or pull things towards herself, but lacked the destructive force that Konan said she'd need against Naruto. Still, she slowly improved those skills, as her chakra reserves grew by the day and her control over her chakra developed at an astounding rate.

As such, Konan had chosen to expand their training to the other paths as well. Animal Path was easy for her, as if her body somehow remembered what it had done while Pein had controlled her. Ajisai couldn't explain it, but was glad that she at least had one thing in which she excelled. Because Asura Path was not her forte, to put it mildly. The first attempt to transform her arm into a weapon had ended in Ino being forced to call for Tsunade's aid. Luckily, the arm had been fully functional the next day, so Ajisai didn't really suffer much delay with her training. After that, Konan had kept it simpler: Ajisai used that path to transform her own skin into armor. While that worked for small patches of skin, Konan had said that it would be a good method to improve her chakra control.

Ajisai found it a rather hellish training method. Thinking about hell, Ajisai was a bit conflicted by Konan's orders with regard to the abilities of the Human Path and the Naraka Path. Ajisai was to improve her chakra control before even thinking of trying to use these two paths, Konan had said. Personally, Ajisai thought that the Naraka Path would be extremely useful, but apparently those abilities were extremely dangerous if one didn't have perfect control over her chakra. Likewise, Human Path was dangerous as well, although mostly for other people. Konan, however, had said that the cost of learning this path did not weigh up against the benefits. Human Path was extremely useful when gathering information, but during battle it had always been one of Pein's least useful abilities.

Still, Ajisai knew she subconsciously did use the Human Path to some degree. Sometimes, when she physically touched someone, she got faint impressions of the emotions of that person. She knew Suiren was filled with worry. She knew that Konan was hiding her grief and sadness. And she knew that Ino's kindness was genuine.

' _But is my training enough? I do feel stronger than I ever expected myself to be, but… Naruto-kun is so much stronger,'_ doubt gnawed at Ajisai's resolve. She wanted to rescue him, more than anything, but when Konan talked about fighting Naruto Ajisai couldn't help be feel some doubt.

It didn't help matters that Konan was feeling doubt as well, even though she tried to hide it underneath her mask of stoicism. Not that Ajisai had mentioned that to her, though. No, in that contrast her 'insight' felt too much like a breach in another's privacy.

"Konan-san," a voice sounded, although it took a few seconds for Ajisai to locate where it came from.

"Yes?" Konan didn't seem surprised by the little toad as far as Ajisai could see. "What is wrong?"

"Fukasaku-sama asked me if I could inform you about the meeting. If you are willing, they are waiting in the office of the Hokage," the little green toad spoke at a pensive tone which surprised Ajisai. Obviously, the creature knew more about this meeting. And whatever it was about, it made the toad sad.

Again, Konan barely reacted. She nodded, after which the toad disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Konan told Ajisai to continue training and right after she dissolved into a cloud of paper, drifting away on the winds, heading towards Tsunade's office.

"What's going on?" Suiren was on the lookout whenever she was awake. A sensor as skilled as her didn't fail to notice even something as small as that toad. "Where is Konan-sama going?"

"Hokage's office," Ajisai frowned. "I'm not sure what is going on, but it sounded like bad news. I guess we'll hear about it soon."

Trying to shut out all distractions, Ajisai turned her focus at the boulder which she was supposed to lift from the ground with the ability of her Deva Path. All these strange exercises sometimes made her wonder if Konan had a good idea of how she was to attain her skills. Then again, Konan had said that only someone with the rinnegan would be able to directly teach another person with the rinnegan. In any other case there was always a certain amount of confusion, as the teacher would never be able to fully comprehend the student's rinnegan. Thus the instructions were, at some level, flawed.

Then again, this wasn't an issue unique to the rinnegan. It was always difficult to 'translate' the actions of other, when the teacher themselves weren't able to replicate those actions, into instructions for someone else. The uniqueness of the rinnegan did increase the problems which that hurdle created, though.

' _But it's not like I'm going to give up due to such a stupid thing. I'm going to free Naruto-kun, no matter what!'_

* * *

"Then he has chosen the worst place possible."

"For us, yes," Fukasaku agreed. "Having heard what ta boy can do, we decided to not go any closer."

"Which is for the best," Jiraiya sighed. "Zetsu controlling Naruto is already bad, but if we give him too much time to prepare for our arrival, things would be even worse."

"He has the home-field advantage anyway."

"He has, Tsunade-sama, but he would have had that anyway," Konan shrugged. "Naruto can turn any environment into his advantage, after all. He has proven that in the battle for Amegakure."

"Yeah but this… this is worse than I anticipated."

"What about the inhabitants? It couldn't be that the whole village sided with him, can it?" Tsunade scowled. "After what happened earlier, that would not make any sense to me, but Zetsu's schemes have been strange before."

"There were no more living creatures in the area," Shima spoke up. She and her husband sat on a tiny seat atop Tsunade's desk, while Jiraiya and Konan had taken seats in front of the desk. At least, before Jiraiya had started pacing around.

"…he wiped out an entire village?" Tsunade couldn't resist herself and opened one of the drawers of her desk. "Any of you want some as well?"

"No, thank you," Konan declined politely.

"None for me either," Shima croaked. "And he's not getting either," she interrupted Fukasaku before the male toad could speak up. "Alcohol is bad for his old body."

"Ma…"

A grim smile crept on Jiraiya's lips. "I guess that's two things that'll never change. Pour me one."

Two glasses seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and Tsunade move the sake bottle to fill them both. "Here," she shoved one to Jiraiya, while immediately downing and refilling the other.

"Sake is no solution to our problems right now," Shima grumbled. "We should focus on how to get ta boy free!"

"Well, we can scratch out the option of infiltration or ambushing," Konan remarked dryly.

"He's not going to move from there, no," Jiraiya grumbled. "So that leaves us one question: how many shinobi can we muster? Do we have any allies left that I am not aware of?"

"You know darn well that we don't," Tsunade muttered, ignoring the female toad as she poured herself a third glass of sake. "With the clan heads trying to overrule me in the council, I can't even guarantee that the full force of Konoha can come to our aid."

"Shouldn't you inform them about the whole mess?"

"What do you think I did?!" the Hokage exclaimed angrily. "That I just sat there while those idiots were spouting nonsense?! I told them that Zetsu took Naruto, but they refuse to believe me. Worse, there are multiple reports, obviously false, that Naruto was seen leaving Amegakure voluntarily. Those morons think that Naruto abandoned us willingly, after Akatsuki was defeated, and that I'm too fucking emotionally unstable to deal with it!"

"Calm down, Hime," Jiraiya put up his hands in an attempt to placate her. "When Kirigakure is facing civil war, and Kumogakure is at Iwa's throat, did you really think Zetsu would neglect to weaken us? Of course he had his schemes in place. We rallied everyone because of the threat of the Jūbi, but our victory in Amegakure has made it pathetically easy for Zetsu to plant the false belief that this threat is gone, simply by creating problems which seem far greater and urgent."

"Zetsu has everything he needs," Konan agreed. "So he waits in the shadows, until no one can stop him. He turned a defeat into a victory. This whole ruse has been the perfect way for him to cover his tracks, after all. But rather than thinking about what we cannot change, should we not focus on the matter at hand?"

"Smart girl," Fukasaku smiled appreciatively. "Yes, we need to find a way to stop Zetsu, before ta Jūbi returns."

"Ta problem is Naruto-chan," Shima continued her husband's train of thought. "He's ta biggest threat to us. How's ta girl doing?"

"With Ino keeping her healthy, Ajisai is training relentlessly and I have to admit that her growth is impressive," Konan reported, although everyone could hear the 'but' that was to follow.

"So she ain't strong 'nough yet," Fukasaku scowled. "Darnit!"

"If we cooperated with Jiraiya-chan…" Shima muttered. "We wouldn't be strong enough, but at least we'd be able to halt him."

"It isn't enough, Ma," Jiraiya sighed. "We'll need more. It is pointless to throw genin or inexperienced chūnin at him, but the aid every jōnin who is able and willing would be most welcome," he didn't look at Tsunade, to her surprise, but at Konan. "Can you gather Ame's elite shinobi, Konan?"

"Not without being forced to eliminate the troops left by Konoha," Konan said stoically. "I highly doubt they would allow me to take control of Ame's forces, not while Konoha is preparing to use Amegakure as their entry into Iwa's territory."

"That's not necessarily true," Tsunade smiled. "I left Shikamaru in command, flanked by Kurenai's squad. If I sent Ino with you, Konan, then you should be able to recruit the necessary forces without eliciting conflict. In the contrary, it's even very well possible that Kurenai and her team join our cause. Her team is close to Ino, and was always close to Naruto as well."

"I'd say it would be for the best to take Suiren along too," Jiraiya suggested. "It will be difficult to guide a group of shinobi without a good sensor. We don't want conflict with Kusagakure, nor can we pass through Iwa's territory. And obviously our own lands are a no-go too."

"Understood," Konan nodded. "What about Ajisai? I'd like to-"

"I know you care about the girl, but if you don't mind I would like to take over her training. I'll take her to join the rest of our forces before the attack, don't worry. She'll need to get stronger, and fast, if we want to have a chance."

"What are you planning, Jiraiya?" Tsunade was suspicious. "Surely you haven't been holding something back on us, have you?"

"Nope," Jiraiya lied casually. "Not with regard to her training, at least," he added, just to be sure. That part was true. Sort of. Luckily, Tsunade bought it, or at least accepted that she couldn't waste more of her time on the matter.

"Then I'll try to gather whatever jōnin are willing, without openly defying the decision of the council. It's a delicate balance, and I'd rather not risk internal conflict. Ugh… I bet Shizune is going to scold me again, because this mess is my own fault," Tsunade couldn't remember that she had ever signed the necessary documents which had granted the council so much more authority during time of war, nor that she had agreed to widen the definition of 'time of war', but that was no big surprise. During her years of depression, in her inebriated state, she had encountered plenty of documents which she had signed without bothering to read them. She hadn't cared at the time. Nor had she been sober enough to be able to read them. And now she paid the price…

Annoyed by her past mistakes, she didn't even notice Jiraiya's expression when he left her office. Nor did she notice the worried glances of the elder toads before they returned to the sacred mountain they called home.

* * *

" **Finally…** "

"Took you look enough."

" **Too long,** " Black Zetsu growled.

"Why are you so much weaker than Naruto-kun himself?"

" **No senjutsu, remember?** "

"Oh yea, I 'member, or you'd risk losing control of him."

" **It is more annoying that the Kyūbi has nearly completely withdrawn itself into the seal.** "

"So you have to waste time on unraveling this seal too?" one of the many White Zetsu that had gathered replied. Black Zetsu, covering the right half of Uzumaki Naruto's body, stood in front of the ominous Gedō Mazō, with a dozen White Zetsu gathered around him as servants.

" **Depends… how much time is left?** "

"At their current speed? A day for the group from Amegakure, two or three hours more for the group from Konoha."

" **None from the other villages?** "

"There's no movement in Sunagakure, our plans in Kirigakure are going splendidly, and Kumogakure is still wasting its troops on Iwa's defenses. Most of their troops have left their ships now, but they still haven't pushed Iwa into a retreat. So no, there won't be more arrivals."

"… **that would be too easy,** " Black Zetsu said pensively. " **Expand your territory, look for groups who might take the other way around. Perhaps there are some who risk going through the Sangaku no Hakaba (Mountains' Graveyard) in order to blindside us.** "

"'kay."

"Aye aye."

"Yes, boss."

After the cacophony of replies died down, and the White Zetsu scattered, Black Zetsu walked over to take a seat. The seal which held the Hachibi back had not been extremely strong, quite unlike what Zetsu had expected. Considering the mastery that its jinchūriki was rumored to have had, Zetsu had expected that the Hachibi would have been the most difficult one to extract. Instead, he had spent two days less than anticipated. A good thing, because the extraction of the Gobi had taken over a day longer.

' _It is a shame that things didn't go as planned. Madara could have done all of this in days, rather than weeks,'_ Black Zetsu scowled, but when he looked at the Gedō Mazō, who had eight eyes open now, his foul mood lessened.

Soon.

Soon, Black Zetsu would see his mother again. Soon, his purpose would finally be completed. For her return was the sole reason of his creation. Black Zetsu idly wondered what he'd do after he was reunited with his mother. Perhaps he could ask her for a true body? When she created him, it had been more of a spur-of-the-moment sort of thing, but once she returned… Yes, a real body would be nice.

He chuckled, looking up at the tree that put even the Gedō Mazō in its shadow. How fitting that it was here, that Zetsu had chosen this specific place to bring back his mother. And Zetsu wasn't thinking about the countless corpses that were scattered, no. He did note that the White Zetsu had eaten their fair share already, though. But what made this place so ironic, to Black Zetsu, was the massive tree standing in the center of this village.

' _Then again, how could they know? It's been such a long time… even the bijū have no knowledge of it. Although Hashirama seemed to have noticed how different it is. Why else would he grant a bijū to a village that only ever produced one extraordinary shinobi?'_ Zetsu pondered.

That man's abilities with mokuton had blindsided him, and had in no small way hindered his plans. Madara had been the perfect tool, if not for that fool. But Zetsu had come so close…

And then that Itachi came along; Zetsu's entire plan had stood at the brink of total failure! And all that because of the shadow that Madara had cast over his clan. The fear for a new Madara had always spurred the other clans to distrust the Uchiha, who in turn had grown sick and tired of being isolated and discriminated. It had been so perfect; Zetsu had barely needed to manipulate anything for the conflict to arise. Perhaps this was what had led him to lose his focus, what made him overlook Itachi. The complete extermination of the Uchiha clan had been the price.

A whole clan, one he had spent centuries of effort on, all slaughtered in one night. Not once since the moment of his creation had Zetsu felt so powerless. It was ironic that it was an Uzumaki, a clan related to the Senju, who had allowed him to salvage his plans. In a twisted sense, Zetsu felt like Naruto was Hashirama's heir, and not just due to his mokuton. The boy had been the same sort of naïve dreamer. Although he had become more ruthless than Hashirama had ever been.

Looking up at the tree, Zetsu could only wonder how many problems that Senju could have caused if he had understood the true nature of this particular tree. Would he have founded Konoha here, instead? Or would he have stayed as far away of it as he possibly could? Zetsu himself knew that he'd choose the latter. The white ones weren't so sensitive, but Black Zetsu felt the disgust nearly overwhelming him. Then again, the tree held less of a grudge against the white ones than it did against him, so it only made sense that he'd dislike the tree more than the others as well.

The traitorous son and his children had destroyed most parts, but somehow one of the shards had survived, somehow it had remained hidden for centuries. It must have been a case of random luck that led the first human through the complex maze of tunnels that led into the hidden valley in which the tree stood. The last living remnant of the Shinju, even though it was merely a fragment, a pathetic shadow of the peerless thing it once was.

For this shard belonged to the God Tree that had produced the fruit which had been consumed by the woman who Zetsu called his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. Old and mighty as the tree had been, it wasn't very surprising that a part of one of its roots had survived and grown into a tree of its own. Weak and fragile in comparison to what it once had been, but a reminder of the transgression of Kaguya. And Black Zetsu, the embodiment of her last will, felt unnerved by the tree from which his mother's power had originated.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to ignore the tree. Takigakure's mighty tree still held a weak and distant echo of the power of the Shinju. Even after all these centuries it still held its unique effect on the water, which could drastically increase a human's strength if consumed with the right concentration. Although Takigakure's 'Hero Water' had the same effect on people that the Shinju also had: the complete drain of life force. Zetsu didn't care about the water. It was the effect tree had over the bijū that had drawn Zetsu here.

' _Yes… if the tree hates me, it hates the bijū even more. Even as a fragment, it still holds some of its original will. It is ironic that no one ever considered how a weak village such as Takigakure had been able to keep the Nanabi in check, while even the five mightiest villages struggled whenever their jinchūriki failed to contain their beasts. Then again, I did eliminate all those who did ask too many questions.'_

It was unfortunate that Kakuzu had not executed the mission that Zetsu had given him, back when he and Naruto had been sent to capture the Nanabi. Zetsu had expected the man to slaughter Takigakure, down to the last infant. It was slightly annoying that Zetsu had been forced to use Naruto's power to do that. Mokuton did grant the perfect ability to dispose of large numbers of weak opponents, though.

' _Those that are approaching aren't weak,'_ Zetsu scowled. Jōnin and the stronger chūnin, those had been sent towards Takigakure. ' _I wonder why Jiraiya hasn't shown up yet. I am sure it was one of his toads that I sensed last week. It is unfortunate that he didn't decide to attack me on his own. Disposing of him while there are a few dozen jōnin around him would force me to waste too much time.'_

Zetsu sighed. There was little time to waste. It wasn't ideal, but mother would understand. If he waited for all of the Kyūbi's chakra to be drained from the seal, the Jūbi would not be ready by the time which Jiraiya and the others attacked. And without the Kyūbi, the Gedō Mazō was rather fragile right now. Eight bijū resided in the husk now, but without the last and mightiest of them, the amalgamated chakra would remain highly unstable.

' _I'm not going to collect all eight again. This time I will succeed. Ugh. Why did that accursed woman have to destroy Madara's corpse?'_ Black Zetsu swore that he would make Konan suffer for the sheer amount of annoyance she had caused him.

* * *

"Isn't there more I can do?"

"I haven't seen you perfecting that move, so why would you want to learn something new?"

"But… it doesn't even have a thing to do with my abilities!"

"What happened to the times when students still had faith in their teachers," he sighed exaggeratedly. "Poor old me, I try to teach you a jutsu that only one person in the world still knows, and still you doubt me. Why, if you hadn't been such a cute girl, I would have refused to keep teaching you."

"This is not the time for these antics, Jiraiya- _sensei_ ," the orange-haired girl said that latter with such contempt that Jiraiya snickered.

"You're my godson's fiancée, right? I guess you'll need to be a bit of a hardass if you want to live together with that kid," Jiraiya's smile never really reached his eyes.

"You disapprove?"

"What? Of you? Why would I?" he asked in genuine surprise. "Sure, I would've liked to get to know you a little better, but I haven't really gotten much of a chance to get to know Naruto either. I might be his godfather in name, but… I haven't been allowed to stay as close as I wanted."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ajisai frowned. "Why wouldn't you be allowed to stay near your godson?"

"Because of his parents," Jiraiya sighed. "He was raised as an orphan, with his parentage been kept a secret, but Naruto is the son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato. The latter was also known as the Yondaime Hokage. Although I might add that Iwagakure knew my old student under different names, considering the large number of their shinobi who have perished at his hands. As Minato's teacher, I was told to keep my distance from Naruto, so that no one would discover the secret behind Naruto's lineage…"

"Or Naruto-kun would have gotten countless enemies because of his parents?"

"Exactly," Jiraiya nodded sadly. "Konoha was in chaos because the Kyūbi had just attacked the village, so no one really paid too much attention to one little baby boy. Minato had already kept Kushina's pregnancy a secret, both because of his enemies, but also because Kushina had been the previous jinchūriki of the Kyūbi. Pregnancy is a risk to female jinchūriki, as their seal weakens."

"So… everything happens because her seal failed?"

"I do not know, no one does," Jiraiya grimaced. "Minato was a master at fūinjutsu, and I can't imagine that he made a mistake. Hell, I was so confident in that everything would go well, that I was out of the village and on a mission when everything went wrong. When I got back they had already decided to keep Naruto's true identity a secret. With his blond hair, they put him in the care of the Yamanaka clan, which is known for that hair color. Still, those who were close to Minato and Kushina had to keep a distance to keep Naruto's cover perfect."

"But, couldn't you have… there must have been a way for you to…"

"To do what? To meet him once in a while?" Jiraiya shook his head. "No, Naruto was an impulsive little brat, who spoke before he put his brains to action. The risk of exposure was too great. So you tell me: would you put your personal interests first, or would you put Naruto first?"

"I'd put Naruto-kun first," Ajisai frowned.

"Whenever I was in Konoha, I snuck into the Yamanaka compound and watched how he was doing. And when he was a genin, I slowly introduced myself, with the idea of taking him in as my apprentice once he was ready. Unfortunately, he disappeared before it came to that."

"Yamanaka compound? So Naruto-kun grew up with Ino?" Ajisai wondered. "Ino spoke of him as if she knew him extremely well, but never really told how they met or anything. It's too painful for her to talk about it, I suppose."

"Those two were practically inseparable," the toad sage chuckled. "Even when they were toddlers, she was already bossing him around. Although Naruto had an excellent skill at getting under her skin and somehow escape without incurring her wrath as well. Unfortunately for her, things went differently. As you are well aware of," he smiled at Ajisai. "I guess I should at least have expected as much from my godson, but nevertheless I'm proud that the kid has such a good taste!"

"…now I see why Ino warned me about your perverted nature," Ajisai looked at the sennin with a deadpan expression that made the old man only laugh harder.

"But how do you feel about him, girly? How far are you willing to go for him?"

"I love Naruto-kun," Ajisai huffed, as if that explained everything.

"I've heard many people talk about love, yet still back away when they needed to jump to the defense of those they loved."

"I'll do whatever it takes to free Naruto-kun. After that… we'll have to see what happens after that."

"You want to jump to marriage right away?" Jiraiya teased- successfully as well, considering the blush that crept over the orange-haired girl's face. "You've got my blessing, girly. I wondered how you'd deal with everything that has happened to you, but… I guess Naruto chose more wisely than I did, because you're strong."

"Not strong enough."

"Hah, I'm not talking about combat ability! Your mind, Ajisai, that's what makes you truly strong. Without willpower no shinobi would ever be truly strong. A willingness to sacrifice yourself for the sake of something greater, for instance, or the willingness to rise above yourself, there are many forms of willpower."

"That's idealistic," Ajisai muttered, being more of a realist herself. "But no matter how badly I want it, I need more power if I want to free Naruto-kun. Why aren't you training me? You promised me that you'd make me strong enough to do it."

"Naruto means more to me than you know," Jiraiya sighed. "Trust me when I say that I want you to be strong enough to free the kid. There is nothing I want more than that."

Was he playing with her? All he did was show her a set of three chakra control exercises, which resulted in the spiraling sphere of chakra which she now held in her hand, while he was busy writing and reading. Oh, and he had her practice with the Preta Path, whenever she became too exhausted to continue with the rasengan. Reversing the flow, however, seemed a rather pointless exercise to her. She asked, but he kept writing.

Worse, he refused to explain why the stuff he was writing was so important. He had promised her to make her just as strong as Naruto was, but even though this 'rasengan' jutsu was rather destructive, it wasn't even nearly enough to close the gap in power between her and Naruto. And yet Jiraiya persisted that the rasengan was pivotal for the later stages of her training. Except that…

"You _are_ aware that there is only one day until Konan-sama reaches Takigakure, right? We'll need to leave soon, even if the toad you sent with Konan-sama will transport us there."

"I know we're running out of time. But it doesn't mean that I won't be selfish enough to stall this a few hours more, sorry." The sad glint she saw in his eyes, if only for a fraction of a second, shocked her. She had wanted to protest, to force him to teach her something, but that look in his eyes stopped her from doing such.

That did not mean she didn't grumble in annoyance as she walked back to the little clearing which now served as her training field. She had pretty much destroyed the areas where she had trained previously- too many rasengan- but this one was still relatively unscathed. A sign of proper chakra control, Jiraiya had called it.

* * *

"Hey, Kurama?"

" **Yes?** " the fox sighed.

"After all these centuries, I wonder… do you think mankind is evil?"

" **Evil… is a human concept. It is futile to think about it.** "

"Is it?" Naruto frowned. "Now that I'm about to die, I wonder…"

" **You wonder whether you are good or evil?** " the Kyūbi chuckled. " **Stop trying to break your head over that question. It is a waste of time. Your human labels of 'good' and 'evil' are entirely subjective. People act, and these actions can be interpreted in many ways. What is good in the eyes of some might be considered evil by others. There is no easy answer.** "

"Says the fox that claims he can sense negative emotions in people."

" **That is not the same as good or evil,** " Kurama sighed. The fox slumped down slightly, closing his eyes, and sighed once again, deeply. " **My ability to sense negativity is difficult to describe. Let's take nature as an example, considering how familiar you are with it."**

"Okay?" Naruto raised one eyebrow, wondering where the enormous fox was going with this.

" **Would you consider a hawk killing a mouse to be evil? No, of course you wouldn't. The hawk needs to feed, and preys on mice. It doesn't kill mice because it holds anything against those rodents… it merely kills them to survive, or to feed its offspring. There is no negativity involved, yet conflict is a natural part of life as they know it.** "

"The hawk would just do what it is born to do, just like humans kill their cattle, or feed of the products grown from their soil."

" **So what would you think of a man killing another man? Good? Evil? Without knowing the circumstances it is hard to say, so let's assume that this man kills the other because he is hungry, and the other hoards food to survive the upcoming winter and denies anyone but him entrance to that supply. You could still consider the murderer to be evil, by your human standards, even though his act wouldn't necessarily be one brought forth by negative emotions.** "

"…wait, you're truly suggesting that negative emotions and evil are different things?"

" **I am. The act itself could be one out of an urge for survival, similar to that of the hawk example earlier. The bottom line is that survival always results in conflict, as resources will be limited. On the other hand… if a warrior fights for a just cause, would you consider him to be good? What if this soldier hates his enemies, and causes unnecessary suffering? In that case the act of murder would involve negative emotions; it is a malicious action that serves no purpose other than inflicting as much suffering as the perpetrator can inflict.** "

"That would still be evil, though."

" **To you, perhaps. But I have seen many cultures in which such a soldier would be praised as a hero, as an example to the people. His actions may be justified and seen as 'good' or 'right' to do, as he did the thing that benefits the most, or simply because he was the stronger fighter. Different cultures, or even different generations, have different perspectives on things; including on what they consider to be 'good' and 'evil'. You humans entertain yourself with the idea that there are two opposing extremes, with some variants in between, which define your actions. But there is no universal definition of such things. As is the case for any language, mere words, including their ever-changing meanings, are man-made. There is no absolute truth, no absolute good or evil.** "

"Then what _do_ you sense?"

" **The desire to inflict pain,** " Kurama sighed. " **Regardless of their cause, regardless of cultural standards or customs, this is the one thing that I know. A hawk kills in order to satisfy its hunger, or to feed its offspring. A man, however… there are so many reasons mankind uses when it tries to rationalize its own relentless violence. And that doesn't even account for the fact that it is often their own suffering that causes people to inflict pain on others.** "

"But-"

" **The mere idea of 'evil' implies that there is a fluid morality. I've seen it happen many times; warriors are sent to a war with the idea that their enemies are 'evil', and that killing them is 'good'. On both sides of that armed conflict the warriors believe the same. Tell me: who is good, and who is evil?** "

"…"

" **I told you that there is no easy answer. You humans try to define and categorize things as if everything acts according to some kind of universal law, while reality shows you something wholly different. The irony is that you often squabble over the differences, eventually resorting to violence in order to determine whose perception is 'right'.** "

"Then peace-"

" **The absolute peace you dream of is something your kind cannot achieve. As said, conflict over limited resources will always remain. And beyond that there will not be peace as long as humans keep deluding themselves and interpret reality through the filter of social constructs that you call morality. It should be obvious to you that reality cannot be twisted and bent to fit those wishes. Reality isn't shaped by social constructs. You have seen this by observing nature, when you look at things as they are irrespective of human perception. It is why I say I sense negative emotions, rather than rely on your ever-changing concept of evil. Your concept will never have a fixed definition, as humanity always changes the rules by which you play whenever it suits your needs. Take your laws, for example. Do you think that what is considered to be legal in this day and age was also considered legal two centuries ago?** "

"You're basically saying that good and evil… hell, that morality itself is nothing but a lie?"

" **It isn't a lie. Lies are meant to deceive others. Mankind's habit of defining and categorizing, of simplifying everything to a level where it is comfortably understood, it might be misguided and ignorant, but not necessarily meant to deceive,** " Kurama allowed himself to smile a little. " **You are not a pure and innocent being, and know well enough that the world isn't as simple as you would like it to be.** "

"Unfortunately…"

" **It isn't all bad. In spite of everything you had to endure, your heart is not ruled by malicious intent. Ultimately your emotional attachments kept you from going astray, even if your sanity hung in the balance at times. Yet you managed to calm down when facing death. That makes you better than the old man's two sons, or anyone I've seen pursuing peace. You are neither naïve nor despairing, but found a balance.** "

* * *

' _She really has her heart at the right place,'_ Jiraiya smiled while Ajisai returned to training. Everything so far had gone as planned. Even better. The true gambit was yet to come, though. Tsunade's attention was turned to her village, as she attempted to slow down the faction that craved war. Her idea had been that they would fall in line in case of emergency. If something went wrong, if there was a clear sign that no one could ignore, she would be able to unite her village. Too late, Jiraiya thought. Then again, in his opinion it didn't matter one way or the other.

Defeating Naruto through force was no true option anyway.

With Konan, Suiren, and Ino having gone to Amegakure, in order to gather as many skilled shinobi as they could, Jiraiya had focused his attention to his own schemes. Teaching Ajisai had been part of that. Preparing her for the gamble he intended to make. The speed at which she had mastered the rasengan was simply preposterous, although it remained to be seen if she would manage to integrate denser forms of chakra into the jutsu as well.

' _Oh well, there's no time to teach her that. It is already a miracle that she mastered the basic rasengan within days. Minato would've been astounded. Let's hope the girl will indeed become his daughter-in-law. I bet he would have approved without a moment of doubt. Kushina… Kushina would've been harder on the poor girl. Kushina has always been a rougher around the edges, and something tells me she would've been a rather overprotective mother. She would've given Ajisai a run for her money at first, and then loved her with all her heart.'_

Jiraiya smiled at the idle fantasy of Naruto's parents meeting Ajisai. Perhaps it was that dream he had dreamt last night, that made him feel that way. He couldn't say. Minato had always been like a son to him, and his death had left a wound that had never healed. Now that Jiraiya thought about it, he realized that everything had been against him. An orphan chosen due to his talent as a shinobi, a team which eventually had left him behind, one by one, and students who had all died before him. At times he wondered if everyone he got close to became cursed for some reason, or that he himself was cursed.

With a sigh, Jiraiya wondered if this gambit of his wasn't complete idiocy to begin with. Then again, Ajisai was more Konan's student than his, so… perhaps this time he wouldn't fail? His influence was kept to a minimum this time, so perhaps Ajisai wouldn't suffer the same fate as all those before her. He hoped.

' _I can't let her be another entry in my long list of failures. Nor can I let Naruto be there. She can succeed, rescue him… I'm pathetic,'_ Jiraiya grimaced. ' _This isn't how 'the tale of the gallant Jiraiya' was supposed to end. Writing all these stories… it would all been for naught if my own story remains a waste of time.'_

Suddenly he saw himself sitting in that kitchen again, a kitchen in a building which was long gone already. As were the people who had inhabited it. But sometimes memories of those times seemed so vivid, perhaps due to the strength of his longing, that they almost seemed tangible.

" _Come on, don't say that,"_ the male voice of his student had shaken him from that depression, many years ago. " _I thought it was great! Each chapter really seems like a page out of your own life, sensei. It almost reads like an autobiography,"_ Minato had praised the first serious work that Jiraiya had published: The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja.

He himself had thought that it had been too pretentious, yet for some reason it had really touched Minato and Kushina. Although they were of a minority, considering how low the sales numbers had been. These had been nowhere near the last installment of the Icha Icha series.

" _The way the protagonist refused to give up, even at the end… that was really cool. He's just like you, Sensei,"_ Minato had disagreed with Jiraiya regarding the criticism on the novel. It had embarrassed Jiraiya, he remembered, when Minato had spoken those words, because that book had indeed been written with his own experiences as a source of inspiration.

" _Sensei, I was thinking… we want to raise our child to be a shinobi like the one in your book! That's why we've decided to name him after the main character in your book. What do you think?"_

Even if he thought back at it, Jiraiya still couldn't truly believe that Minato and Kushina had honored him that much. He, the man who had failed so many, had been given the honor of being their unborn child's godfather! Worse, the name 'Naruto' was one which he had randomly came up with, simply because he had been eating ramen at the time. Though, this might have been the reason which had convinced Kushina to like the name, considering her obsession with the food.

" _Naruto is a beautiful name."_ When Jiraiya closed his eyes, it was as if she was standing right in front of him again, just like in last night's dream. The woman had been radiant, at the time still blissfully unaware of the terrible events that were to unfold. What had it been? A month before she had given birth to Naruto? Hiruzen had given him a mission which would take him away from Konoha for a while, which had been the reason why Jiraiya had visited the family.

If only he had stayed, if only he had been in Konoha that day…

" _You're a man with true skill, an example we should all follow. I can't think of a finer shinobi than you,_ " Minato had said when Jiraiya had been amazed by the fact that he was to be the child's godfather.

' _That's right,'_ Jiraiya pondered. ' _I named him… Naruto… and in spite of everything that was done to you, you still became a brave and honorable shinobi, just like the character in the book. Just like your parents. Just like Minato and Kushina wanted. You endured everything they threw at you, and never gave up, no matter how bad it got. You were tempted so much to give in to all the hatred you must have felt, and yet you persisted… And I'm supposed to be your teacher, your godfather, I can't give up just like this! Because I… the student's ninja way should be the master's, too! Right, Naruto? To never give up, to do everything within my ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable opponents, that was the choice I had to make!'_

Jiraiya looked at the scroll in front of him. He couldn't see a single flaw in it. Every array of the seal was perfect. Likewise, he knew every aspect of the jutsu that was recorded in the scroll. Tsunade would be furious, but it wasn't like she would know that he had stolen a kinjutsu right out of her desk. Not when he had personally designed the safety measures, back when it had still been the office of Sarutobi Hiruzen. No, once she would find out, it would already be to late.

' _Naruto… You're my godson, you vowed to create a world of peace, just like I wanted, but I'm sure that you'll succeed where I have failed, I know it… the rest is up to you!'_ Jiraiya smiled fondly as he saw his godson's fiancée fall to one knee, before she immediately continued. ' _No, not just up to you. Minato had Kushina, and you'll have Ajisai. Perhaps that's why I always ended up failing. Oh well, not that I can blame her, it's rather my own stubborn heart that still can't change. Even though I know she never saw me as anything more than a teammate, I still can't stop loving her…'_

It was a pity that the straightforward solution was doomed to fail. There were no alternative options left. He sighed. There wasn't any time left for regrets and self-pity. He'd have to finish his letters first.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Yes, I know: the tree in Takigakure isn't a fragment of the Shinju in the canon universe. This isn't canon, though. This is fanfic, AU, where I can decide for myself. Personally, I don't think this theory is all that unusual, though. **MrHam31** brought it up in a review, wondering if the reference I made to Taki's tree was one to the Shinju. Originally I intended to take Zetsu/Naruto to Takigakure for the Hero Water, using it to strengthen Naruto's mokuton, but I liked that suggestion way more. Especially after further fleshing out the details around the tree, it seemed to fit the information provided in the filler episodes on the time of Indra and Asura.

For the sake of completion: the part where Ino and Ajisai talked about flowers, about hanakotoba, isn't stuff which I made up. **Illuminated** gave me the idea of using the meaning of flowers, and after googling around I found quite a bit of information. However, I ended up using it in a wholly different scene than he suggested.

I wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy 2018!

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	23. Kinbou

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Twenty Three**

 **Kinbou**

* * *

" _Wisdom consists of knowing how to distinguish the nature of trouble, and in choosing the lesser evil."_

― Niccolò Machiavelli

* * *

"- **at which point, I got torn out of her** ," the gigantic fox sighed. " **I can't really remember what happened afterwards, except that I was surrounded by pesky humans who tried to attack me, and then that accursed father of yours transporting me away.** "

"Do you hate them?" Naruto wondered. "My mother held you captive in her seal for years, and my father imprisoned you in mine."

" **Yes, he was the one who sealed me into you. But that's not the real reason why I hate that man** ," Kurama scowled. " **The reason why I hate him is because he sealed only half of me in you, while he took my other half down with him.** "

"He… he what?" Naruto stared up at the fox. "You're only half? How… how can that be?!"

" **I thought I told you that I have little interest in your little human ninjutsu. The last one who drew my interest was Senju Hashirama, as I also explained. How he managed to do it is something beyond my understanding, but Namikaze Minato somehow managed to summon the Shinigami itself. That's how that bastard managed to tear me asunder. I am a being that consists of chakra, after all.** "

"Yeah, but… to tear you in two, it just sounds ridiculous!" Naruto sputtered. "Though, after your history with mankind I can see why he would think that you're just a mass of hatred and all."

" **Hmpf. Even I have standards. Even if I had been whole, I wouldn't have killed you. Not immediately, at least. I might have turned you paranoid, though. It was fun when Mito thought that my ability to sense negative emotions was a gift of mine. It wasn't until she nearly lost her sanity and began to live as a recluse, distancing herself from all the negative emotions that surround your disgusting race, that she realized the bitter truth behind that ability…** "

"It sounds a bit like what the Ichibi did to Gaara," Naruto remembered. It hurt that he had been involved in the death of his friend, after having been involved in saving his soul earlier. It was one of the many things he'd never forgive Zetsu.

" **Shukaku always had a bad habit of turning his jinchūriki into insomniacs, until they reached the point that they enjoyed murdering everyone. A rather vulgar method. Then again, paranoia didn't really turn out to be as effective as I hoped, either,"** Kurama sighed. " **Uzumaki Mito still got old enough to reach the point of dying of old age, at which point she transferred me to your mother. And paranoia didn't really work on her.** "

"Why not?" Naruto blinked. "Was Kaa-chan that strong?"

" **Fear and anger can be suppressed by other emotions. In her case, her love eliminated my chances of escape.** "

A silence fell between man and beast, as both remained lost in thought for a while. Within this empty realm there was little else to do than talk: about the history of mankind, of the bijū's view on humanity, of what Kurama knew about Minato and Kushina, and more. Naruto was surprised when he realized that their goals didn't conflict nearly as much as he would have expected. He had wanted peace, and Kurama wished to lessen the amount of negative emotions he felt in the world.

Naruto had called the fox his friend and he meant it. The bijū were treated horribly, and Naruto agreed that mankind was rather foolish as it stumbled on in its violent ways. If not for Kurama's misfortune, Naruto would have felt little more than indifference about their impending end; as for him, it would only be a reunion with those he had already lost. Still, it would take a lot of time until Zetsu could completely unravel the seal.

Or had they been miscalculating?

"Hey, Kurama," Naruto squinted with his eyes. "Why is your left tail glowing like that?"

* * *

' _What's with this building?'_ Ajisai frowned when she looked at the decrepit old ruin. A swirling symbol was still visible, but judging by the condition that the building was in, she couldn't imagine this was still the property of an existing clan. Then again, identifying clan symbols was a basic skill which any shinobi should have, as it was a fast way of identifying your opponent; if she hadn't seen this symbol before, she would have been quite sure that it was a dead clan. After all, Jiraiya wouldn't have taken her to this place without a good reason, not when the time to travel to Takigakure was drawing close.

She was quite sure that he knew as well as she did that her strength was insufficient. It made her anxious, insecure- the very idea that she had to face Naruto. Even with the rinnegan, she knew that he was too far beyond her, way too far for just a short period of training to close the gap. And yet, Jiraiya did not panic. What did he know that she didn't?

"Follow me," Jiraiya spoke up calmly.

"Where are we?" the bearer of the rinnegan could see the remnants of barriers which still shielded the ruined building. They probably prevented people from detecting it too, if she had to guess. After all, why else would there be such a building so close to Konoha with no one having claimed it yet? She couldn't recall seeing any other ruins while traveling past the borders of the village, at least.

"This is a building that belongs to the Uzumaki clan."

"Uzumaki?" Ajisai frowned. "Is this Naruto-kun's home?"

"No," Jiraiya chuckled. "Thank the heavens he didn't know about this place. There wouldn't have been anything preventing him from entering it, had he been aware of its existence… that would've been disastrous."

"Why?"

"You'll see."

The two entered, with Jiraiya having to bend over in order to get through the half-collapsed doorway. Ajisai, being smaller, had fewer troubles. While not squeamish about these sorts of things, she wasn't too happy with all the cobwebs that 'decorated' the interior of the old building, making her move with care in order to keep her orange hair free of spiders. Jiraiya, in front of her, was fairing much worse. He sneezed, and apparently that was the point where he got fed up with all the webs and dusts. Muttering a jutsu, a gentle gust of wind blew through the building. It dislodged a few planks, but it was soft enough to avoid any more damage.

"I usually use that jutsu against skirts," Jiraiya grinned, obviously proud of the perverted usage of that fūton jutsu. He wasn't fazed by the deadpan he got as an answer.

"What are those masks?" Ajisai wondered, as she looked around in the main hall of the building. They were radiating with different sorts of energy, and most of them seemed far too ominous for her to even want to get near to them.

"Ah, I take it your rinnegan can see some of the seals that are behind the masks?" the man tilted his head in mild surprise. "So it enables you to understand seals to some extent too? Shame. I could've taught you some interesting tricks if I had known. Oh well, it's too late for that now. Not that we really had the time, though."

Wondering what he meant, Ajisai took another look at the masks. It wasn't like she could see any seals on them, rather more like there was some strange sort of intent that she could discern from them- as if she could see why they had been made.

"Are you willing to rescue Naruto, no matter what?" Jiraiya asked her seriously.

"Of course I am," Ajisai frowned. "I told you that I would free Naruto-kun, no matter the cost."

"I know it must sound weird, coming from an old fart such as me, but hearing that makes me prouder than I could possibly tell you," Jiraiya smiled, closing his eyes. He had resigned himself to his fate. There were no easy ways to defeat Zetsu, not while the Gedō Mazō was nearby. In a worst case scenario, Zetsu could even let the statue swallow Naruto's body whole in order to let it consume the Kyūbi. Fighting Naruto head on was no real option either, not when Naruto had defeated Nagato. No, the direct way would lead to failure. To reach victory, to free Naruto and stop the Jūbi from being spawned again, different measures were needed.

"I knew Minato and Kushina well, and I know they would feel the same way I do. They would've loved you as their daughter," Jiraiya continued. "I suppose I should see you as my goddaughter. Of course, you'd first need to free Naruto in order to marry him…"

"Jiraiya-sama, what are you-"

"Here," he abruptly handed her the large scroll he wore on his back. "You'll find everything there. I've added descriptions next to the relevant storage seals, by the way. I've left a few letters in the scroll, and I'd like to ask you to hand them to the people they are addressed to. Some are things that need to be handed over to old contacts that I owe something, other documents contain information that might be critical… and of course there are a few personal messages. I suppose I should warn you to be careful when you give the one I wrote to Tsunade. She has a rather nasty temper."

"Why can't you do that yourself?" Ajisai froze up. The logical part of her mind had reached the inevitable conclusion, but she didn't want to accept that.

"Victories are reached in various ways, Ajisai. Apart from the letters, everything else in the scroll is my gift to you and Naruto," Jiraiya walked towards the wall where the masks hung. "First I need the mask of the Shinigami," he grabbed a particularly evil looking mask. "This is one of the forbidden jutsu that the Uzumaki clan kept from the world. And not without good reasons. These masks are Naruto's property, so let him deal with them after the war ends. But always keep in mind that their usage comes at a price, even if the rewards are equally great. Destroying them might actually be the best option."

With wide eyes, Ajisai watched as Jiraiya put the mask of the Shinigami on his face. The Shinigami of the Shiki Fujin had to possess Jiraiya's living body to make it come to the mortal plane. As her rinnegan transcended the normal rules of life and death, Ajisai could bear witness to the Shinigami's arrival. She watched in horror as Jiraiya moved his body, in perfect synch with the Shinigami behind him, cutting open its stomach and allowing four masses of chakra to escape from the belly of the Shinigami.

At that point, Ajisai still did not want to realize the terrible price that Jiraiya would have to pay for this act.

"Jiraiya," one of the blobs of chakra spoke up, confusing Ajisai. Slowly but sure the blobs began to change. Their colors too, as if they were… people?

"Sarutobi-sensei," Jiraiya spoke with a strained voice. "It seems we meet one last time…"

"Hiruzen?" the green human-shaped mass of chakra wondered. "What is this?"

"We've been freed, brother," the blue one answered. "Obviously that man knows the jutsu as well, and freed us from the Shinigami…"

"That is correct, Nidaime-sama," Jiraiya bowed weakly. "I wish I had more time to speak with you or the Shodai, but alas… time has become even more valuable than it already was."

"Why did you do this, Sensei?" the yellow and orange one seemed distraught. "Why did you sacrifice yourself like this?!"

"To free you, Minato," Jiraiya chuckled. "How could I leave you to this horrible fate?"

"Jiraiya, why would you go this far? What is happening?" the brown one seemed to think ahead of the situation. Of the four, this one was the smallest. As time passed, each form became more distinct, until Ajisai saw four men standing in front of Jiraiya: four men that were well known, as they each were a vital part of the history of the shinobi villages.

"Akatsuki has taken Naruto, and they intend to use him to revive the Jūbi," Jiraiya held up his hands when the four past Hokage all asked their questions. "There is no time for questions, I'm sorry. In short: Naruto was taken, both for the Kyūbi which is sealed within him, and the mokuton kekkei genkai that will likely enable him to control the Jūbi to some extent. In order to free Naruto, I will need the other half of the Kyūbi, Minato."

"I sealed it because it was too powerful," the apparition of Namikaze Minato hesitated. "I thought… for Naruto to be able to control it, the Kyūbi's power would need to be cut in two, or else he would suffer the same fate as Kushina did."

"I've heard that they've become friends, somehow," Jiraiya simply smiled as he left the four men stunned once again- not that anyone could see that, considering how he still wore the demonic mask through which he had summoned the Shinigami. "As unlikely as it sounds, the Kyūbi is the only one who can overpower the restraints they've place on Naruto."

"So you've been planning to use that girl," the Nidaime nodded at Ajisai.

"I won't survive this jutsu," Jiraiya shrugged. "And Ajisai was always the most logical option- both when looking at her motivation and in terms of her combat ability she is the strongest choice."

"Her eyes," Sarutobi Hiruzen stepped towards Ajisai. "Have you found another child with the rinnegan?"

"Those are transplants," Hashirama somehow knew- or sensed. "Saru, is this another one of your students?" he pointed at Jiraiya.

"He is," the oldest-looking of the four nodded. "Although he is nothing like Orochimaru. But-"

"It is obvious that his intentions are completely different from your other student, Saru. So I think that it would be better to leave him be. His time is running out, after all."

"If I had another choice, I would have taken it," Jiraiya agreed with the first Hokage. "I've prepared the seal," he rolled out the scroll on which he had drawn the seal that he had been working on for the past days. "Minato… if you can pour the chakra of the Kyūbi in here, and Ajisai, can you hold your right hand onto this circular seal?"

"What are we doing?" Ajisai was at a loss now.

"Before I died, I split the Kyūbi into two halves," Minato explained. "I sealed one half into my son, while the other is sealed within me. It would seem that Jiraiya-sama wants you to use that chakra in order to somehow free Naruto."

"With your rinnegan, you should be able to subdue the Kyūbi until you can transfer it to Naruto. There is even the chance that the prospect of reunion will be tempting enough for the fox to voluntarily aid you. This is why I had you practice on reversing the flow of your Preta Path."

"Rinnegan or not, this is a dangerous gamble, Jiraiya."

"I have faith," Jiraiya smiled proudly. "She's my godson's fiancée, after all."

"Fiancée? Of your… wait… fiancée?! Naruto?" Minato, ghost or not, stumbled in surprise. "H-how… how did that happen? How old are you two now?"

"Minato, this isn't the time for that talk," Jiraiya chuckled weakly. "Please keep concentrating on the seal."

"Oh… yes, of course Sensei," the Namikaze said sheepishly. "But if I may ask-"

"I met Naruto-kun while he stayed in Amegakure," Ajisai explained. "I was assigned to be his attendant, aiding him while he trained. I admired him, not for his strength, but his personality. Still, he didn't really seem to understand people, and I… he saved me from a man who was chasing me, and after that I gathered the courage to… well, we got together," she blushed slightly. "Sadly, we couldn't stay together, as he had a mission elsewhere. I died, was revived, and now I'm trying to free Naruto-kun from Zetsu."

"…died," Minato muttered, flabbergasted by the amount of bizarre news. He had last seen his boy when Naruto had been a baby, and now that he returned for this short amount of time, he found out that Naruto was engaged to a girl who had died and somehow had been brought back to life. "It seems you two have faced a lot of hardships. I hope you'll succeed in freeing him. I wished… I wish I could have seen my son. But I am happy that I have seen my future daughter," he smiled. "When I finally see Kushina again, I'll at least have some good news to tell her as well!"

While Minato had been feeding the Kyūbi's chakra into the seal, and the seal began to spread over Ajisai's right arm, the three remaining Hokage had been standing behind Minato. Each held a hand on his back, feeding him what little residual chakra they had, extending his stay. Hiruzen had been the first to begin to fade, forcing him to say a sad farewell to his student. Jiraiya had bought their freedom, but at a terrible price. Tobirama was soon to follow, and eventually even the mighty Hashirama ran out of energy.

"The rinnegan is a thing of legends. It grants the power to shape the world into the wielders vision. Or destroy it. Your eyes… I recognize them. They have been changed completely, but they still possess shards of chakra from my old friend. Those eyes belonged to Uchiha Madara. His wishes were not to the benefit of this world, Ajisai. But whatever the origins, they are now yours. Use them wisely. I hope you can go where I failed, and bring peace to this torn world. Good luck," Hashirama bowed to Ajisai. "And Jiraiya, I thank you for your sacrifice."

"Who knew the mighty Shodaime Hokage was so talkative," Jiraiya grunted, clearly reaching his limits now. "Minato, are you almost done?"

"If not for the restrictions imposed by the seal, I could have transferred it faster, Sensei."

"I know, but I'm running out of time. Push. And Ajisai… brace yourself," Jiraiya warned. "I made safeguards in the sealing array that guides the Kyūbi's chakra into the seal on your arm, in order to protect you from the massive flow of chakra. When those safeguards fail it'll be… uncomfortable."

True to his word, Ajisai began to feel the pain soon after. The seal glowed an angry red, and her arm felt as if it was dipped into a pool of boiling water. Clenching her teeth, she willed herself not to let her suffering be heard. In front of a person who had already died, and one who was dying right now, she felt like her own pain was rather trifling.

Whether it had been seconds or hours, Ajisai couldn't tell, but suddenly the influx of chakra stopped. "It is done," Minato muttered sadly. "Sensei, I'm… sorry. If I had known that this-"

"It is fine, Minato. This was the choice I had to make," Jiraiya took off the mask. Blood was tickling down from the corner of his mouth, smiling as the man which he saw as a son faded to the afterlife. "I failed so many times… but this ending, this ending is a little better than what I thought I was capable of. I freed you, Sensei, and the others. I gave Ajisai the means to free Naruto. It was a chance to atone for all my mistakes. I think this is a pretty honorable death. Yep… pretty darn honorable."

"W-wait!" Ajisai panicked. "What am I supposed to do?!"

"You're not a jinchūriki, not by the proper definition of the word… the seal is weak, but strong enough to isolate the Kyūbi until you reach Naruto. In this short amount of time, there won't be enough time for its chakra to merge with your body. So… transfer it… once Naruto is stronger… he'll free himself. You can give him the means to overpower Zetsu. I believe in you, Ajisai."

Ajisai wanted to protest, but she saw how the figure that hovered behind Jiraiya was dragged into the Shinigami. The lines that covered her arm twisted and twirled, until it resembled at swirl-like symbol of the Uzumaki clan. As if it solidified, Ajisai could sense the massive chakra that was pushed behind it settle down- it was odd that it didn't struggle against her.

Slowly, Jiraiya's eyes closed, and his body moved forward. She could only stop him from toppling over, but by then she already knew… she knew why the Shinigami had disappeared. She knew what the Shinigami had taken away.

One day before the final battle against Akatsuki, Jiraiya of the Sannin passed away. With his death he freed his precious student, his teacher, and two more unfortunate souls who had fallen victim to his old friend's schemes. With his death, Jiraiya of the Sannin had paved the way for Ajisai to free Naruto. That was why he had been willing to pay the ultimate price. The Shinigami had consumed his soul, ending his life, in return for freeing those it had held before him. The four who had been freed had passed on, but his soul was now trapped within the Shinigami's stomach. Locked away, he was unable to enter the Pure Land, unable to follow Minato, or all the others he had lost throughout his life.

And despite it all, he died with a smile.

* * *

"They've arrived."

"Both groups."

"Yes, but they're waiting."

"For someone."

"Jiraiya isn't there yet."

" **Calm yourselves,** " Black Zetsu grunted, annoyed by the influx of information coming from the various White Zetsu whom he had sent to scout out the enemy. " **How many?** "

"Forty, I think."

"Plus Konan."

"Tsunade of the Sannin is with them too."

" **They know that I'm controlling Naruto, so they will have to have something up their sleeves if they seek a direct confrontation like this… It's quite annoying, actually.** "

"If only they had waited for a bit longer!"

" **I suppose I will wake the Gedō Mazō. With Naruto's mokuton and this remnant of the Shinju, I'll suppress its berserker state until it is powerful enough… As for them… without jinchūriki on their side, those morons won't stand a chance. And if they enter Takigakure I won't need to bother suppressing it either. So, even if Jiraiya and Tsunade show up together, they can't fight both the creature** _ **and**_ **Naruto. And if they wait too long, I'll offer Naruto to the new Shinju, allowing mother to return…** "

"You're so smart."

"A true genius."

"They're always at a disadvantage!"

"So devious."

"The true voice of our generation!"

" **Just shut up and prepare for the attack.** "

"Should we collapse the entrances?"

" **No, not yet. Let them enter first, and then destroy those tunnels.** "

"But then they'd be trapped in here, wouldn't they?"

" **A trapped enemy is a desperate enemy. With the creature in front of them, their morale will be broken swiftly.** "

"They would break faster if they would have to fight mother," several White Zetsu cheered. "Mom's the greatest!"

* * *

Their small group of shinobi had set up camp near a river. The surrounding forest had become a bit ominous, considering that their enemy would be able to use the trees against them, but they had little choice in the matter. They had to take this path in order to reach the entrance of Takigakure. She just hoped that Zetsu wouldn't try to delay them by collapsing the tunnel system. Entering Takigakure by forcing their way through the mountain would be arduous, a waste of time which they could not afford. Then again, there was a reason why Iwa had never succeeded in conquering Takigakure… and it wasn't just because the entrance to the village was difficult to find. That sort of knowledge was known to too many people to remain hidden from a proper spymaster.

Sighing, she returned to her tent. She hated this situation. They had been a bit earlier than originally anticipated, and while she had asked Shima to warn Jiraiya, he and Ajisai had yet to show up.

"Tsunade-sama," a female voice startled her. She silently berated herself for being so lost in thought.

"Konan," she looked at the de facto leader of Amegakure. "What's wrong? I thought that we avoided conflict."

"The people of Amegakure are usually stubborn and hotheaded," the embodiment of the opposite of hotheadedness spoke. "I've… _convinced_ my people to let go of those grudges."

"You're not doing Zetsu's job for him, are you? You've already killed one of your own," Tsunade sighed. "Then again, that fool shouldn't have tried to assault Hinata and Neji, just because he had a grudge against the Hyūga clan."

"I thought his fate would have been a good example to the others, but alas," Konan shrugged dispassionately. "What I wanted to ask, however, is why you are here."

"Here, instead of in Konoha?" Tsunade saw the younger woman nod. "This is where I need to be. As the Hokage of Konohagakure, it is my responsibility to act in the best interest of my village. In this case, even though those fools from the council do not realize this yet, this place is decisive in regard to the future of the village."

"And if they use your absence in order to start the war they've been advocating?"

"Let them," Tsunade sighed. "It is irrelevant, either way. If we succeed, and we free Naruto and stop the Jūbi from being resurrected, we can stop that foolish war easily enough. It isn't like there is anyone in our village, nor in Iwa, who can stop Naruto, let alone Naruto when he's flanked by Jiraiya and me. Alternatively… if we fail our mission, those hostilities do not matter either. If the Jūbi is truly as strong as the Kyūbi said, and Zetsu turns it against the hidden villages, there won't be anyone able to stop it. It might sound like a cliché from one of Jiraiya's crappy novels, but this is truly the place where the fate of the world will be decided."

"Considering how he stopped Nagato, Naruto would indeed be a force the world would have no choice but to listen to."

"Much like my grandfather."

"Worse, he will have Ajisai at his side," Konan smiled mildly. "Did Shima say anything about the time when Jiraiya-sensei and Ajisai would arrive? We will need the two of them, and if we stay here for too long… even if our sensors have yet to spot Zetsu, I'm certain that he knows where we are. Still, there is that tiny chance that we might surprise him. And the longer we wait, the smaller that chance becomes."

"Shima was… guarded," Tsunade muttered. "The way she dodges my questions didn't sit right with me. Then again, I can hardly try to force her to speak up. As tiny as she is, that toad is far stronger than anyone would ever suspect."

"We cannot risk losing the help from the toads," Konan nodded. "Still…"

The flap of the tent went open, and Konan fell silent. "Tsunade-sama," Ino panted, having rushed to get there. "Ajisai has arrived."

"Good," Tsunade smiled. "With her and Jiraiya here, we can-"

"No," Ino interrupted. "Only Ajisai has come…"

"-start our… What?" Tsunade frowned, looking confused at the blonde girl, but Ino had no answers either. Konan, judging by the slight crease in her brow, had no idea either. "What is that old pervert doing now?" the Senju muttered. "We can't afford to waste time now." She barged out, with Konan and Ino in pursuit.

The gathered shinobi gave wide berth to their agitated Hokage, and she heard some of them whispering worriedly. She couldn't exactly blame them. Tsunade had experienced the difference between herself and Jiraiya, and since he had told her how his strongest jutsu had been barred during their fight, considering how the toads had been furious that he had turned against Konoha, Tsunade knew very well that he was their strongest warrior.

Yet he still had admitted that Naruto was stronger. Why was he absent? Why had only Ajisai been summoned? Why had Shima been so hesitant to answer Tsunade's questions? What plan did Jiraiya have in mind?

"Where is he?" Tsunade ignored the pleasantries and cut right to the main subject, when she saw Ajisai talking mutedly with the elderly toads. "Why isn't Jiraiya here?" Had she been a little less impatient, Tsunade might have noticed that Ajisai carried the large scroll which Jiraiya always had with him.

"Tsunade-sama," she spoke softly. She opened the scroll and unsealed something. "Jiraiya-sama asked me to give this to you," she handed her the letter that Jiraiya had prepared.

"A letter?" Tsunade scowled. "Why couldn't he tell me-"

"He is dead."

"-himself, instead of…" Tsunade continued, before she realized what Ajisai had just said. "He… what?"

"Jiraiya-sama is dead," Ajisai's voice was strained with emotion.

"…w-why?"

"Because this was ta only way he could think of salvaging ta situation," Fukasaku said dejectedly. "Shima and I tried to talk him out of it, but we couldn't stop him."

"Perhaps 'cause we, at some point, saw that he was right," Shima croaked in the same sad tone of voice. "Jiraiya-chan knew we couldn't beat Zetsu as we are now."

"So he sacrificed himself in order to give ta girl a fighting chance," Fukasaku continued when his wife fell silent. "Ajisai-chan now holds ta power to free ta boy. Jiraiya-chan was right. He knew Zetsu would know that we'd be coming. That he'd have ta Jūbi waiting. Or else, Zetsu would just let Naruto-chan be eaten by the statue."

"We couldn't find any conventional way through which we'd be victorious," Shima sighed. "But Jiraiya-chan saw ta alternative. He's ta only one who could do it. Just as Ajisai-chan's ta only one able to bear ta burden."

"He freed the other half of the Kyūbi," Ajisai clarified, seeing Tsunade's distraught look. "With its aid, my power can match that of Naruto-kun. With it, I will free Naruto-kun."

"B-but… no… this… this cannot be," whether she was Hokage or not, she couldn't care about appearances right now: she just let the tears flow. Tsunade had so many friends and loved ones already, and now, just after she and Jiraiya had come to terms again, he _died_?

"It is true, Jiraiya-chan used ta same jutsu which Minato-chan used… he freed Minato's soul, and ta part of ta Kyūbi which Minato-chan sealed away, at ta cost of his own life," Fukasaku sighed. "Please read ta letter, Tsunade-chan. We need to move to ta attack now. Jiraiya-chan wouldn't want us to waste ta chance he bought with his sacrifice…"

In a daze, Tsunade barely realized that Konan was the one who guided her back to her tent. She didn't notice the defeated looks in the eyes of the shinobi who had been present. She just sat down, and stared at the letter which Jiraiya had written.

* * *

 _Tsunade,_

 _There are many things I wished to tell you, but unfortunately I will not be able to. I suppose you might even be angry enough, because of what I did, that you don't even read this… still I want to tell you why I did it. The Shiki Fūjin has been a kinjutsu from the Uzumaki, one that Minato knew due to Kushina. Even your grandmother, Mito, either did not know or refused to teach this jutsu. Perhaps Kushina wanted the same, but you know how convincing Minato could be when he felt like he had to be. Just as much as how he always prepared for the worst-case scenarios._

 _True to his promise to Kushina, Minato kept that secret mostly a secret. Mostly, as it did end up in the scroll of forbidden jutsu. That is where Sarutobi-sensei learned it, as he used it against Orochimaru. That is also where I learned it, as I stole the scroll from your office not too long after Sensei died. For the worst-case scenarios, I told myself. Although I'd be lying if I didn't say I did it to free Minato and Sensei from the belly of the Shinigami. They didn't deserve such a fate. By comparison, my mistakes have been far worse. And unlike them, I have no one waiting for me in the afterlife._

 _My mistakes, and let that be clear to you, are mine. I said I forgave you for what you said back then. When we thought that Naruto had died, we both lost hope, we were both devastated. We both lost too much to cope with another loss as bitter as that. We both said things we should not have. If I had not been so stupid, I would have gone back to you the day after, and talked it through. Instead I lost all hope and became a wanderer without any aim or direction, until I met Konan, who led me to Nagato. They gave me purpose again, as I wished to leave the world a better place for those after us. I wished for a world where broken people such as us would not exist, as the wars that scarred us wouldn't be prevalent in the coming generations, but in the end it was all just a mistake. Whether Nagato lied to me or if he deluded himself, it is irrelevant. I should've known better. Even if I had the best of intentions, I did the wrong things. The blame is mine, and it is my burden to atone for._

 _That why I resort to this jutsu. I will sacrifice myself so that Naruto may be free. I lay down my life, not only for Minato and Sarutobi-sensei, but for Naruto, for Ajisai, for you, for everyone. If everything goes as I have planned it, Ajisai has the other half of the Kyuubi trapped within a seal which she can easily release. All she needs to do is get into physical contact with Naruto, provided that his half of the Kyūbi wasn't already completely extracted from him. But within this timespan, that should not be possible. At most Zetsu will have taken a portion, but not all of it. So when Ajisai fights, make sure she gets close to Naruto…_

 _When the two halves of the Kyūbi reunite, Naruto should be powerful enough to free himself. If Zetsu struggled to control Naruto when he only contained half of the Kyūbi, I doubt he'll manage to maintain control when the Kyūbi becomes whole. Of course, this is a great gamble, with grave risks. Do not let Ajisai near the Gedō Mazō, or, in a worst case scenario, the Jūbi. If she loses her half of the Kyūbi, all would be lost._

 _This, my sacrifice, needed to be done. Fighting Zetsu head-on would have been a mistake. And even if we were able to fight against Naruto on equal grounds, Zetsu could just throw Naruto into the stomach of the Gedō Mazō. That would slow down the absorption, yes, but would nevertheless herald the return of the Jūbi. No, a sacrifice had to be made in order for Naruto to be freed. I gladly give my life for that. Our job is to help the next generation, and set a good example for them. And for that I've gladly laid down my life. It's what makes us old guys cool, you see._

 _We set out to save the world, all those years ago when we were merely genin; now I'm sure that it will be saved. But not for me. Do not mourn for me as you did for Nawaki, Dan, or Naruto. So if I can make one last request, it would be to ask you not to waste this opportunity. Live! I gave my life so that you could live yours, not so that you can drink it away._

 _Look out for those kids for me, will you?_

 _Jiraiya._

* * *

Outside the tent, Ino and Shizune exchanged looks, but chose to give Tsunade a little time and space to process this terrible news.

A bit further, Suiren was fussing about Ajisai. "I'm fine, Suiren, I told you that already."

"I know, but your arm… it looks _wrong_ ," Suiren insisted. "Even if it is just temporary, that much chakra crammed into a seal like that, it is dangerous. It barely feels stable."

"Of course it is dangerous," Ajisai smiled sadly. "But Jiraiya of the Sannin gave his life for it. Do you really think that his sacrifice isn't capable of holding half of the mightiest bijū ensnared for a day or two?"

"…"

"Besides, if the Kyūbi had wanted to, I'm sure it could have caused more problems. The fact that it has not would point out that it is either weak against my rinnegan, or that it prefers to help me. The latter seems more likely to me, to be honest."

"But why? Why would such a demon even want to help you?"

"If every story about the Kyūbi was true, I doubt Naruto-kun and he would have been friends," Ajisai disagreed. The strange vibration her seal suddenly gave off almost felt agreeing to her. Apparently, Suiren had seen it too- she was too good a sensor not to notice it. So did Konan, judging by her sudden appearance and slightly raised brows. "I'm fine," Ajisai repeated. "But how is the situation here?"

"Bad," the female toad croaked. Shima and Fukasaku had kept themselves from the exchange so far, having silently conversed with each other instead. "Ta statue has been growing stronger and stronger, while Naruto-chan is getting weaker."

"You said I shouldn't worry too much about that," Suiren pointed accusingly at the little toad. "Because the seal would last for a few days longer!"

"It was hardly anything your worries could have changed a thing about," Fukasaku sighed resignedly. "Ta fact that we can feel ta statue growing stronger at such a rate is an indication that Zetsu is at least able to access and transfer part of ta fox's power."

"But if the Kyūbi was extracted, Naruto-kun would die," Ajisai gasped. "Why? I thought Zetsu needed Naruto-kun for his mokuton."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. We don't know how strong the Jūbi is. Even Nagato wasn't sure how powerful the combination of the nine would be," Konan stated. "Even he had doubts whether or not he would be able to control that vast power. So, it is important we strike before Zetsu can finish."

Looking around, Ajisai saw many of the shinobi standing in groups, silently discussing amongst themselves. "It seems like morale isn't all that high," she frowned.

"The announcement of Jiraiya-sensei's death could've been brought with a bit more subtlety," Konan said calmly, with a solemn expression that made Ajisai cringe a little. "Do not worry, Ajisai. Sensei would not have wanted me to waste time on emotions. Not when the life of his godson is in the balance. And yours."

"Mine?" Ajisai blinked.

"Jiraiya-sensei was, in spite of his unusual behavior, no fool. He wouldn't have gambled everything on you, if he had not trusted you completely."

"Jiraiya-chan was not ta type of person to make such decisions on a whim," Fukasaku agreed. "He knew that a straight-forward battle against Naruto-chan would end up in failure, even _if_ we are stronger than Naruto-chan. Did you think we couldn't stop him, after he spoke of his plans? We've known Jiraiya-chan even since he was a young tadpole, girly… yet even we couldn't think of a better plan, no matter how it pains us."

The idea that a man whom had only recently gotten to know her would place such an amount of trust in her was strange to Ajisai. At first she had thought that he was just a weird, yet kind, old man, who cared for her because she was the fiancée of his godson. Yet, for some odd reason, he seemed to have entrusted her with far more. Why? What had he seen in her, while she couldn't even fully believe in herself? And these two old toads, who both could boast centuries of life experience, why did they share his opinion? Even Nagato, Pein, had sacrificed what little had remained of his life. Why? Sure, she had inherited the rinnegan, and her body was perfectly adapted to the dōjutsu as well, but Naruto… he was still so far ahead of her. Why did they all think she stood a chance against him?

It wasn't like Ajisai doubted her resolve. No matter the odds, she would do everything she could to free Naruto. But regardless of that resolve, there remained that thorn of doubt that was stuck in her heart. The awe she had always felt when she was near Naruto. The overwhelming difference between them. No matter how he had told her the opposite, Ajisai had always felt inferior due to that difference in strength. She idolized him, in a way.

She was shaken out of her thoughts when the camp suddenly started to move. Tsunade had barged out of her tent, her eyes still red, tears still visible on her cheeks, but somehow the woman gave off an aura of pure determination.

"Everyone gather up," the Senju roared. "I know everyone is upset by the recent news. Losing Jiraiya is a harsh blow. But he gave us the key to victory," she pointed at Ajisai, who was starting to get a little uncomfortable. "With Ajisai at our side, even if we have only few allies gathered, we _must_ ensure victory! If we lose here, if we allow ourselves to fall, what do you think the consequences will be?"

Murmurs were the answer she got from the gathered shinobi.

"There are those who were too blinded by other conflicts to answer our call, even within my own village there were those who rather followed their own self-interest. But we stand here!" Tsunade continued, radiating a murderous intent that made everyone remember why she was one of the Sannin. "Unlike those short-sighted idiots back home, we did not allow the enemy to fool us into the false belief that Akatsuki was defeated. If we had done as they did, no one would have tried to stop the return of the Jūbi. And if we do not stop this, both Konoha and Amegakure will fall, just like every other hidden village. If we fail, if we hesitate, our world may be lost. Do you want this?!"

"No!"

"Then we attack! For Jiraiya, for our villages, for our families, our friends, and for everyone and everything we love: we will be victorious! We MUST! Even if it takes the ultimate price, we cannot let this _thing_ devour our world!"

* * *

The words of the infuriated Hokage were still ringing in her ears. While the others entered Takigakure 'the normal way', with doton specialists ensuring that the tunnels wouldn't collapse on them, she and Konan had taken the alternative approach. Steep and high, the hollow mountain that hid Takigakure had an opening on top. For Konan, this wasn't much of a problem. She just separated into many sheets of paper, floating in the winds. For Ajisai… well, she already knew why Nagato had considered the Deva Path as the strongest of the Rikudō no Jutsu (Six Paths Technique).

Altering her own gravitation came at the cost of some chakra, but floating, almost flying, through the skies gave her a feeling unlike any of the other jutsu that she had learned in these past weeks. A feeling of freedom, a feeling which almost negated the worry that controlled her thoughts. Of course, she could have just summoned the giant bird, and used that to enter Takigakure. But that was a method that was rather unsubtle.

" _Zetsu travels by ground, and we know that Naruto is strongly connected to the earth and whatever grows on it,"_ Konan had said when they had planned the assault. _"The sky is ours. It is unlikely that Zetsu would fall for it, but if we can get the element of surprise… we need to exploit whatever chance we can possibly get."_

As such, Tsunade and the gathered shinobi acted more or less as a distraction, while Konan and Ajisai attacked from the other direction.

"Don't get distracted, Ajisai-chan," the purple toad on her shoulder croaked. Shima and Fukasaku sat on one shoulder each. When the time was there, they'd call in reinforcements, and the full might of Myōbokuzan would descend upon Zetsu.

"I'm sorry," the orange-haired girl muttered. Worry about Suiren and Ino had distracted her from her 'flight' for just a second. The short hesitation had made her 'flight' a bit bumpy, which Shima didn't exactly appreciate. When she vehemently denied it, Ajisai had a suspicion that the female toad was afraid of heights. Or perhaps it was that they were flying, she couldn't say.

The view beneath her was stunning. Past the highest peak of the rocky formation that hid Takigakure was a sight at the massive tree which put the entire village in its shadow. In fact, if one didn't know that it was hidden underneath the canopy, one could easily overlook the entire village even from this point of view. All that she could see were the green leaves of the tree, which blended perfectly with the trees atop the surrounding rock formation.

Konan's papers fluttered in front of her, leading the way. She heard Shima warn her to stay away from the branches, to not disturb even a single leaf. They didn't want to alert Zetsu, in the unlikely case that he didn't already know that they were approaching.

Carefully, Ajisai went lower and lower, until… "That's ta thing we expected," Shima noted sadly. "Your sensor-friend noticed it too. But to see such a thing… I can never get used to such cruelty."

Corpses were littered throughout a village that consisted of demolished, moldering, or still burning buildings. Trees had grown through the ruins, forming a sort of wall. Behind the wall…

" **Well hello up there** ," Black Zetsu looked up. Still parasitizing on Naruto's body, the black creature covered half of the person who loved Ajisai. " **To think you gave Nagato's eyes to the very girl whose death led to his undoing. But do you think your little rag-tag group of fools is going to change anything, Konan?** "

"We will stop you, Zetsu," Konan declared, white paper wings holding her steady within the air. "We will free Naruto, and end this madness."

"… **will you?** " Black Zetsu chuckled. " **I'm sorry to say, but it is too late for that.** "

All of a sudden the chakra signature of the Gedō Mazō, which had been growing at a steady rate during all this time, vanished. Literally vanished. Both toads on Ajisai's shoulders gasped, but that sound fell into nothing when the beast itself roared. Tsunade, Suiren, Ino, and all those who had gathered, they came out of the tunnel system that gave entrance to Takigakure, only to find out that they were all too late.

She swallowed away her fear. Now Ajisai knew that she had to see whether she had truly become able to fight Naruto as an equal, for all the others would have to struggle against the ten-tailed monster. The titanic creature roared with a deafening sound, announcing its return into the world.

After all these centuries, the Jūbi had returned.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Jiraiya… most of you probably already saw his end coming, although there weren't many who seemed to have guessed the whole plan. There'll probably be plenty of people who disagree with the course of action I've chosen, but… oh well, there'll always be people who disagree. While I doubt Zetsu would spend centuries and allow any real flaws to exist in his plans, I wonder if he ever considered the possibility of the Kyūbi being split in two. But would that be a guarantee that Jiraiya's plan would go smoothly?

With regard to plans: it is odd how difficult it can be to finish some chapters. There were a few moments at which I found myself drawing a blank with regard to how I wanted to continue. At first I had a combat sequence placed before the Jūbi's return, but I constantly failed getting that part 'right' for some reason. Eventually, I got frustrated at one evening and considered whether "I even need this shitty part" and found myself answering with a negative, and deleted nearly three thousand words, skipping right to the important parts as there wasn't much need to drag things out.

I'm curious to know what you all think about the story and the new chapter. The response to the previous chapter felt a bit halfhearted to me, the chapter having only a third of the regular number of reviews, and far fewer views as well. I'm not sure if I'm losing the audience, so I would like some feedback: please **review**!

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	24. Bloom

_I asked for feedback, and I got it. Thank you! Seems like some of you felt like I paid too much attention to Ajisai in the recent chapters. Ironically, I was under the belief that I had neglected her… oh well, you wanted more action, more Naruto, and wanted Naruto to no longer be a damsel in distress. Let us see if I can deliver on that in this chapter._

 _The finale is approaching…_

* * *

 **Asunder**

 **Chapter Twenty Four**

 **Bloom**

* * *

" _He who plants a tree, plants a hope."_

― Lucy Larcom

* * *

A few years ago, she would've thrown a tantrum over it, but right now it mattered little. Her clothes were soaked, her hair a mess, but it was all irrelevant. The accompanying ninja that had an affinity for doton jutsu were keeping the tunnel intact, but no one wanted to linger here longer than necessary. The idea of having a mountain collapsed on you was plenty of motivation for everyone to run as fast as they could- past the waterfalls, through the water, along the tunnels, until they now reached their destination.

Chakra was filling the air, and she could see Suiren next to her feeling very uncomfortable. Then… all of a sudden, that massive chakra signature disappeared- at the moment they reached the end of the tunnel. Yamanaka Ino had to blink, blinded by the sudden light after having adjusted to the darkness of the tunnel.

The first thing she noticed was the tremor. It was as if something massive was stomping on the ground; it was an earthquake-like shaking of the ground. What was this? Why couldn't she feel a speck, drop, or particle of chakra? Ino didn't know. She blinked again, and saw an enormous blur. Everyone around her had come to a halt. Then… something roared. It was a terrifying sound that shook Ino's resolve.

' _Are we supposed to fight this thing? How?'_ she thought, feeling dismayed when she saw it. The tree that put Takigakure in its shadow was nothing less than enormous, far taller than even the Kan'on that Naruto could create. But the monster next to it… had they been too late? This thing didn't fit the description of the Gedō Mazō. ' _Ten… ten tails? Is this the Jūbi?'_ she swallowed. For a moment she feared the worst: that the Kyūbi had been extracted from Naruto, and that the boy had perished.

"He's there," Suiren tapped her on her shoulder. Ino looked at the direction that Suiren had pointed, and yes… with a heavy heart, Ino recognized Naruto. His right half covered in a black substance, due to Zetsu's possession, but the other half was unmistakably Uzumaki Naruto- even from this distance.

' _Thank god he's still alive,'_ Ino sighed, before she realized that their task had become even more daunting than it already was. She reviewed their plan: Konan was mostly useless against Naruto's mokuton, a fact which she was well aware of. However, her abilities were perfect for eradicating the large numbers of White Zetsu that they had expected. Tsunade and a select group would aid Ajisai in defeating Zetsu/Naruto, while the others would focus on the Gedō Mazō- especially by keeping the statue away from Naruto, hoping to prevent the scenario where Naruto would be swallowed whole.

Sadly, all those plans could be thrown aside now. The appearance of the Jūbi meant that they had to focus on fighting that unknown entity, leaving Ajisai mostly alone in her struggle against Zetsu/Naruto- though not completely alone, if Ino had a say in it.

The Jūbi howled and its single eye turned to the gathering of shinobi. It moved, but at that moment the mighty roots of the Takigakure's great tree shot up and bound the creature. For a moment, Ino had the foolish hope that Ajisai had already succeeded in freeing Naruto. He did have his arm lifted, but it seemed that it was still Zetsu who was in control. Why he kept the Jūbi tied like that was something Ino couldn't understand, but she could not really complain…

Just when she stepped forward, intending to go to Naruto, the Jūbi gave another deep and low roar. It struggled, in vain, to escape the tree's hold. Then its skin just seemed to bubble. A host of smaller creatures, some as large as a human being, others still tall as a building, spawned from the Jūbi's skin.

' _Shit…'_

The route towards Naruto and Ajisai was cut off by a legion of the Jūbi's spawn.

* * *

"Well, that's our cue, Ma," Fukasaku hopped off of Ajisai's shoulder. "Let's get this war started."

"You go, Pa, I'll hand Ajisai-chan a bit of chakra before I join ya," Shima croaked.

"Not too much, though."

"I'm not going to turn her into stone, ya daft old fool," Shima snapped. "Go! Bunta and ta others need to be here."

"My summons will aid you," Ajisai declared. "Animal Path: Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" she poured in a large amount of chakra. Not as much as a neutral observer would expect her to, though. No, unlike the regular summoning jutsu, the rinnegan's Animal Path was far more efficient. When all was said and done, it took only a fraction of the amount of chakra, in comparison to the cruder forms of summoning which 'normal' shinobi used.

Still, it took a fair amount of chakra to summon a panda, an ox, a rhinoceros, a centipede, a chameleon, and a multi-headed dog all at once. Especially when considering that each of these creatures was strong enough to battle the boss-summon of the toad clan. For a moment, Ajisai considered keeping the chimera-like chameleon back to use it against Naruto, but she knew it was pointless. The creature could offer invisibility against most enemies, but Naruto, due to his link to nature, would surely be able to sense it. And through him, Zetsu would spot it as well.

While Gamabunta, Gamahiro, and Gamaken leapt over Zetsu/Naruto, Ajisai's summons simply barged past him. To her annoyance, Zetsu seemed more amused than worried. Even though the ensemble of giant animals tore right into the army of the Jūbi, there seemed to be nothing but a gleeful smile on the right side of Naruto's face. The left eye, Naruto's own, just stared at her- dully and lifelessly. That blue eye… it completely lacked the vibrancy which it normally radiated. It hurt Ajisai more than she wanted to admit.

The knowledge that she had died, that she had been turned into a puppet, one that had been turned against her lover- she _knew_ that it was true. She knew it, and had accepted it, she thought. Seeing Naruto for real, seeing how he was controlled by Zetsu, seeing how he was enslaved, it was something that no knowledge could have prepared her against. Her head had already accepted it, but her heart had been slower on the uptake. Ironically, the thing was beating wildly at the moment.

"You're awfully calm, Zetsu," Konan remarked. "Even though your control over the Jūbi isn't exactly perfect."

" **Ah, of course it isn't. After all, it hasn't reached its full power yet,** " Black Zetsu smirked. " **A hungry beast is always difficult to restrain. Although such problems are temporary, I assure you.** "

"Why are you doing this?" Ajisai blurted out. "Why would you do this to Naruto-kun?!"

" **We all have people we hold dear, don't we? But for now… I think I will have to thank you, girl. With Nagato dead, and Konan interfering before I could take his eyes, I thought I had lost the rinnegan. And here you brought them back to me… perfect!** "

Zetsu didn't waste a second. Roots shot up from the ground the moment he stomped on the ground- well, the moment he made Naruto stomp on the ground.

"Shinra Tensei," Ajisai hissed. It wasn't all-powerful, but the push was more than strong enough to destroy the roots.

" **I see you've picked up a few tricks in this short amount of time. Impressive. Very impressive. It took Nagato years before he was able to switch between the paths so smoothly,** " whatever compliments Black Zetsu would give, the gesture was undone by the callous way in which he said it. " **I wonder what other ways you can think of to stall-** "

An explosion cut him off. Konan, still flying, had launched an aerial attack. Dozens of tiny paper birds flew at Zetsu, exploding before the parasitic entity fully realized what happened.

Chance. Ajisai saw the cloud of smoke that obscured Zetsu's vision, and knew that she had a chance. Without a second thought, she rushed forward. All it would take it getting a hold of Naruto, and she'd win. She hoped.

Her ripple-patterned eyes widened when a trunk-like nose appeared through the smoke, and she collided into a wooden dragon. The dragon screeched and tried to bite her, but a simple substitution jutsu left the dragon chewing on a log.

"Where is he?" Ajisai scanned the area, but wondered if Konan, who had kept her distance, had seen anything. "Underground?"

"Probably. You seek, while I deal with that dragon."

Ajisai nodded, and moved away from the woman she had idolized for years. This battle wasn't just a battle about strength. Defeating Zetsu with power was useless, after all. This battle was something completely different. Ajisai didn't delude herself with thoughts that she could have mastered her dōjutsu to a point where she surpassed Nagato. No, she knew she was weaker than Nagato. She knew that Naruto had defeated Nagato. But for this battle, those things didn't matter.

' _I don't need to fight him. All I need to do is to transfer the Kyūbi to Naruto-kun,'_ she reminded herself. ' _But to do that, I first need to get a hold of him…'_

In spite of all its abilities, the rinnegan wasn't like the byakugan, and could not see through objects in the same manner. Perhaps, if she had had more time to learn more jutsu, or explored more aspects of the paths she had yet to master, she could have known a way. But it was pointless to worry about those things now. Hidden somewhere underneath the surface, Zetsu could strike from any direction, without her seeing it coming. Oddly, he just rose from the ground, creating some distance between himself and Ajisai- much nearer to the Jūbi, who was still held down next to Takigakure's giant tree.

"Banshō Ten'in," Ajisai raised her hand, wanting to pull Zetsu towards her.

" **You honestly think I would fall for that?** " Zetsu mocked her. " **Certainly, your mastery over the rinnegan was unexpected, but after being blown away once, I'm not going to allow you to do that twice.** "

The unspoken question on his end, however, was why she wanted to pull him towards her. Was it possible that she knew Preta Path as well as Deva Path? Still, Zetsu saw no harm in that. Human Path, on the other hand… Black Zetsu knew he was practically impervious to most attacks, even though he was quite powerless by himself. But the extraction of one's soul was something even he would not survive. Still, the usage of Human Path would leave her wide open to a counterattack from his side. It would be suicidal…

" **Why do you care so much about a boy you've only known for a few months at most?** "

"…"

" **The people of Amegakure always chose their partners based on strength. A logical notion. It makes me wonder why a person such a Naruto, of whom I made sure he was educated in such a way that he was a more logical thinker than the bumbling fool he was before I took him in, was led astray by you… you are merely an unremarkable kunoichi.** "

"Naruto didn't think like that," Ajisai denied. "Nor do I!"

" **Really,** " Black Zetsu smirked at the girl, whose irritation was growing. He couldn't care less what Konan was doing to the little dragon he created- it could take some punishment, and all it really served for was for Konan to waste her explosive tags on it. " **Then why do you like him so much, that you are willing to go this far for him?** "

"You really do not understand Naruto-kun," Ajisai smiled wryly. "He was torn by pain and sadness, yet he managed to free me from mine. Behind his pain there was still that same warm and gentle person; hidden, perhaps, but he was still there. You claim that you changed him, but you're mistaken. You may have changed the outer layer, but the real Naruto was always there! He was the first source of comfort and hope I had in years; he dragged me out of the grey and colorless world I was living in- not because of his power, but because of _who_ he is. That's the Naruto I'm fighting for with everything I have!"

" **Tsk, love always makes people so delusional… it is not even funny anymore, after seeing this sort of stupidity for all these centuries,** " Zetsu raised Naruto's hands, and the trees followed. " **Let me show you how absolute my control is, foolish little girl.** "

With an exasperated growl, Konan saw that after she finally took down the annoyingly durable dragon- Zetsu had spawned three new seven foot-tall wooden demonic statues. Dragons were a pain to deal with, but the Gōzanze Myō-ō (Wood Release: The one who subjugates the three worlds) were even more annoying.

* * *

Chaos.

That was the only word she could find to describe the current situation. The assembly of shinobi was struggling to fight against the overwhelming number of diabolic creatures that the Jūbi had spawned. Their number seemed never-ending, in no small part due to the fact that the Jūbi kept creating new ones just as fast as they tore through.

Several enormous toads displayed an absurd level of skill with their weaponry, disposing of countless crowds of the Jūbi's spawn. At their sides, a host of the strangest-possible creatures was even more effective- she could see that they were Ajisai's doing. The ripple-pattern of the creatures' eyes was an easy giveaway of that fact.

A titanic ox used its sheer size and brute force to plow through the Jūbi's spawn, seemingly unstoppable in its charge. To make things better, a winged- why on earth was it winged?!- rhinoceros was at its side, its charge being just as brutal as that of the ox. In their wake there was a giant brown-colored dog. Or rather, a whole pack of them. Each time they met resistance strong enough to damage them, the dog seemed to split up and increase its number. Of course, there were some of the Jūbi's spawn that were too big for the dogs to effectively tear down. This was where the giant panda came into play- it simply took whatever damage the largest of the Jūbi's spawn could lash out, while the chimera-like chameleon revealed itself in their blind spots and destroyed them. Whatever remained alive after these monsters had passed couldn't count itself fortunate, though… a giant centipede 'cleaned up' after its partners had passed, its poison annihilating everything in its path.

The young Yamanaka had to admit to herself that she was awed by the display, as horrific as it was. Ajisai had spoken so casually about her ability to summon these sorts of creatures that Ino had somehow underestimated the havoc they could cause. Sure, Ino had seen the girl practice, summon the individual creatures. But to see them 'hunt' as a pack was something… it gave the blonde hope for a better ending of this battle.

Still, these creatures had started their assault on the opposite end of the horde of the Jūbi's spawn. They approached the gathered shinobi, yes, but since Ajisai and Konan had landed closer to Takigakure's mighty tree, and thus closer to the Jūbi itself, the spawn's reinforcements came from behind the summoned creatures as well.

Led by an unleashed Tsunade, who summoned a colossal slug of her own, the gathered shinobi did their best to fight the stream of monsters. They pushed further and further, with their Hokage destroying multiple monsters with one swing of her fist, yet Ino could only feel worried that they were merely exhausting themselves without truly inflicting any harm. The forces from Amegakure were vicious in their thirst for vengeance. They saw Zetsu as the one who had set them up, who had used their 'god' for his own dirty schemes. They showed themselves to be as effective as the shinobi from Konoha. Konohagakure no Sato was far stronger than Amegakure, both as a collective and as individual shinobi- not just in terms of numbers, but also because the village has higher standards and better training- but Ame's fury was not to be underestimated.

"This is bad," she heard from her side. Tenten wasn't really accustomed to her new blade. 'Same-chan' provided her with a bounty of chakra, and was even willing to rejuvenate Tenten's friends. But recovering her chakra didn't mean that Tenten couldn't physically exhaust herself.

"Yes, it is," Ino admitted, although she felt a little annoyed that she was far less effective against these monsters than the brunette. Samehada seemed to be made to tear through monsters like these. It almost made her wonder just how old the weapon was- was fighting this monster its original purpose? The Yamanaka turned, looking at the blue-haired girl who stood next to her. "We're not going to get through this in time, are we?" A worried frown accompanied by silence was the answer she got. "Hinata, we need to do something."

"I… I know… but I can't see a way through," Hinata muttered dejectedly. "Perhaps Neji-niisan might-"

"That's bullshit and you know it. Your eyesight goes further than Neji's," Ino wasn't willing to waste any time on pleasantries. This wasn't the place, nor did they have the time, to be nice. She knew better than most that Hinata was a sensitive person, who didn't like such a direct approach, but with Naruto's fate on the line Ino wasn't willing to keep playing nice. "I asked you along for a reason. Can you see Naruto and Ajisai, or not?"

"I can see them," Hinata nodded. "They're fighting. Konan-san is with them too, trying to slow Zetsu down while keeping her distance, but Ajisai-san is…"

"How is she holding up?"

"…not good," the Hyūga admitted.

"Do you have a clear sight on Naruto-kun?" Ino urged. "It's important that you know with complete certainty that you can keep your eyes on him for a few seconds, without interruptions. Can you do it?"

"Yes."

"Suiren, Tenten, Neji, Lee, you guys cover us," Ino ordered. "Shika, you and Chōji stay close and act as a second line of defense."

"What are you planning, Ino?" Shikamaru could barely suppress his annoyance with those orders. "In case you didn't notice, those things are swarming us."

"Shut up and just do as I say," Ino growled. "We need to win this!"

* * *

Two waves of paper crashed into Zetsu, blinding him for a moment. Konan had seen Ajisai taking out two of her sealing cards, which she used for her unsealing technique. The Banshō Ten'in that followed failed yet again, making Konan scowl a little. Their strategy depended on the success of the seal which Jiraiya had given his life for. The great gamble. But if Ajisai was too obvious in her strategy, there was a risk that Zetsu might find out.

Not wasting a second after Banshō Ten'in failed, Ajisai summoned a giant crustacean. Zetsu was visibly annoyed, and sent the last remaining wooden demon at the creature. Its poisonous claws struck the crustacean, but lacked the power to pierce its reddish shell. By contrast, the crab-like pincers of the crustacean made short work of the demonic automaton- courtesy of Konan's many, many explosive tags weakening it.

"Ragh!" Zetsu growled out in frustration, lacking the finer control which Naruto himself had. He was unable to capture the elusive Konan, while Ajisai kept finding ways to break his jutsu.

Ajisai ordered her crab-like summon to execute the Suiton: Homatsu Rappa (Water Release: Wild Bubble Wave). A large volume of foam-like bubbles were spit out by the crustacean with such a force that it blasted Zetsu's attack apart.

Not just that, it was also another smokescreen, once again obscuring Ajisai from Zetsu's view. From her point of view Konan could see how Zetsu used the mokuton kekkei genkai to anchor himself into the ground. This time, however, Ajisai had chosen a different strategy.

Deva Path always functioned by making the user the center of the gravitational effect. Ajisai, however, deliberately circumvented that aspect of the Path's power, and used Banshō Ten'in on the anchored Zetsu in order to pull herself toward him. If Zetsu won't come to Ajisai then Ajisai had to go to Zetsu.

Caught off guard, it actually worked. Ajisai held him in her left hand, and brought her right hand towards a part of Naruto that wasn't covered by Zetsu…

Only for him to turn to wood. A wooden statue which burst into several branches which trapped her, forming a solid prison. Of course, the arm with that she had held Zetsu was still stretched out. And that arm was targeted first by the gleeful Zetsu. Before Ajisai fully realized what was going on she heard a loud snap, and the power in her left arm fleeted away.

"My… arm…" she disbelievingly stared at the broken limb.

" **Your choice to fight up close was a mistake,** " Zetsu rose from the ground. " **I wonder why you'd resort to such crude methods. Preta Path is annoying, but nothing I can't break free from. Human Path is a bigger threat, but it would leave you completely defenseless. All I needed was a little clone to lure you in… now give me those eyes, girl.** "

"NO!" It was the first time during this battle that she had resorted to this jutsu. Zetsu frowned when he saw the chakra swirl around her, light-blue wisps converging into one spinning orb. But that wasn't why the parasitic creature began to feel unnerved. He couldn't be bothered with Konan's attack, simply raising a wooden wall to block it, but no matter how much chakra he pumped into the prison he created to contain Ajisai, it couldn't resist her jutsu.

Bubbles of black and purple chakra leaked out of her right arm, merging with her rasengan. The power behind that jutsu was far too much for Zetsu's little prison to tolerate. The failure of the jutsu was an annoyance in itself. Zetsu wasn't really keen on having to waste too much chakra, as he personally had to spend chakra on manipulating Naruto, who in turn had far greater reserves. If Zetsu had to fight for too long, the balance would inevitably tip in Naruto's favor, which would be bad. Worse, however, was that Zetsu recognized the demonic chakra that had caused the rasengan to transform into what could effectively be called a small bijūdama. The result of the silent agreement from a certain fox.

" **The Kyūbi? But that is impossible,** " Zetsu jumped back, not wanting to be caught in the explosion of Ajisai's jutsu. " **On the other hand, it** _ **would**_ **explain why it felt so much weaker when it was sealed into Naruto-kun. I thought it was his Uzumaki heritage that caused the boy to suppress the fox. But in truth, it somehow got split? How? To do such a thing… Hagoromo needed the rinnegan for it. So how did this happen?** "

"It is impossible to see every variable. That is the danger of thinking that you can plan out everything, Zetsu," Konan spoke up, surprising Zetsu. Having backed off from Ajisai, he hadn't noticed how she now hovered behind him. Her ability to fly was truly a thorn in his side. She had nearly killed him with that in Amegakure, before, and now she nearly succeeded again.

" **Foolish woman, if you hadn't spoken up you might have succeeded with your surprise attack, but instead you gave me the time to defend,** " Zetsu taunted. He needed her to make a mistake, and humans were usually easy to goad into a trap.

' _It wasn't meant to be an attack, though.'_

The smirk on his face vanished as Zetsu came to a stop. He wanted to move- to move Naruto's body- but for some reason he couldn't.

' _That's right, asshole. Now you lose!'_

Ignoring her broken left arm, Ajisai had put her right hand on Naruto's chest. Zetsu panicked slightly, fearing what Human Path might do. Instead… instead he felt the flow of Preta Path, but it was reversed?!

* * *

"Ino?" Naruto blinked at the arrival of this unexpected guest. He and Kurama had been silent for most of the time, more or less just waiting until Zetsu would be finished. Words no longer had served any point, as everything they'd wish to say had been said. Man and bijū had been locked up together, yet as time had passed they had become more than just allies out of convenience. They had begun to respect each other, not merely for something as trivial as power, but for who they truly were. "Kurama, what's she doing here?" he looked up.

" **I felt another foreign entity invade your mind, but this one wasn't hostile** ," Kurama lazily opened one eye. Ino stared at it in awe, not even realizing that the enormous nine-tailed fox had shrunken quite a bit- the effect of having its chakra stolen by Zetsu. The fox was curious why Zetsu had suddenly stopped, though. Perhaps this new arrival knew?

"N-Naruto-kun," she stammered. "You're alive? No… no, of course you are, I mean: you're conscious?" she corrected herself.

"Depends on how you'd look at it," Naruto frowned. "We've retreated into a deeper level of my mind, where Zetsu can't get to us, but that bastard is still in control of my body. But what are you doing here? What is going on? How could you get in here?"

"We're here to rescue you," Ino gave a slight, but proud, smile.

"What? But… Zetsu is in control of my body, he's dangerous," the jinchūriki gestured into the empty realm in which they had ended up. "Look at where he forced us to go."

"But we have a plan," the kunoichi shook her head. "No, Jiraiya-sama had a plan. And Ajisai is going to rescue you."

"Ajisai?" Naruto fell back, too shocked to keep standing up. "A-Aji-chan? But… she died… I saw what Pein did to her."

"Yes, she died. But Pein resurrected her. So don't give up hope just yet," she reached out to her former boyfriend, helping him up. "She's waiting for you. Oh, and Kyūbi?" she looked up to the intrigued fox. "You should get ready. I promise you, if you get me to where Zetsu is, and help me distract him for a few seconds, you'll become whole again!"

Now there was an incentive that could stop Kurama from feigning sleep. Naruto, on the other hand, was muttering "she's alive?" while staring into nothingness, dazed and confused.

After several moments of silence, where Kurama was just staring up, the fox turned his attention at the boy down at his feet. Naruto had suddenly changed, losing whatever mental balance he had found in their desperate situation. Then again, Naruto had admitted that he hadn't really been bothered by the prospect of dying. And now all had suddenly changed.

Kurama knew that the main reason of why the boy had surrendered himself to their likely fate had been the death of that girl, the girl who now suddenly was said to be alive again. The prime reason for longing for the afterlife had suddenly become the boy's reason to stay alive. So… why wasn't he happier? Why wasn't he as energetic as Kurama had expected him to be? Did he doubt the blonde girl's words?

" **Whole indeed** ," Kurama chuckled- not as darkly as he had once done, but friendlier. Although someone who didn't know the fox could've easily been fooled. " **Can you feel that, Naruto?** "

"What?"

" **It is the presence of my other half** ," the fox bared its fangs in a wide grin. " **And my other half resides in your proverbial 'other half'. And here I thought fate had no sense of irony.** "

"Since when did you believe in fate?" Naruto grumbled. "I'm still… I can't believe it. I saw her, Kurama. I saw what Pein made of her!"

" **Yet you doubt when you hear that she's brought back to life? You, of all humans, should be aware that the rinnegan is capable of extraordinary things. I told you about the moon, didn't I?** " Kurama looked down at the frowning human. " **Tsk, humans and their pathetic memory spans. The man I regard as my father, the Rikudō Sennin, was the last known wielder of the rinnegan. He created the moon on his deathbed, shortly after he released me and my brethren.** "

"Ah, yes, you told me," Naruto blinked. "But to bring someone back from the… wait, didn't Pein keep one of his Paths back during our battle?"

" **The one that was heading towards the Path that you took down first,** " Kurama nodded slowly. " **Perhaps that one had the ability to bring people back from the death.** "

"And Pein himself had the abilities of all his Paths," the young jinchūriki began to chuckle. "It might really be true, Aji-chan might really be-"

Something rumbled, and Kurama looked up again. He too, began the smirk. " **True indeed. Come on, let's take back your mind from that filthy parasite** ," the massive fox laughed. " **I can feel my other half; it somehow is starting to slip into your body!** "

* * *

" **Impossible,** " Black Zetsu rasped. " **You reversed the flow of Preta Path…** "

"And now you lose," Ajisai gave him a determined glare. "I can see the chakra churning," she smiled. Naruto's chakra was bright, while that of the Kyūbi was a dark orange- nearly red. It was rapidly overpowering Zetsu.

" **First that Yamanaka interfering and now you! Do you annoying pests truly think that you can stop me!? You will never prevent mother from-** "

Zetsu struggled to remain in control, but in front of the might of the complete Kyūbi he fell short. Zetsu had always been a manipulator, not a fighter. He fell over- Naruto fell over- while fighting against those overwhelming odds. If he had not been so terribly close to his goal, Zetsu might have realized that it was in vain, but with his mother's return literally minutes away…

The dark matter leaked from Naruto's right side, and the only thing preventing Naruto from collapsing was Ajisai's hand, which still had a firm grip on his shoulder. She did not relent, continuing to push the half of the Kyūbi which Jiraiya had sealed into her arm. Isolating it in that arm may not have the most stable option, but it also had the benefit that she wouldn't perish from the bijū's removal. She was not a proper jinchūriki, after all.

Of course, Jiraiya had warned Ajisai that this solution wasn't exactly stable, and that it was likely that the creature would struggle for freedom… except that it hadn't. Whether it had willingly cooperated, or if the seal itself had still been too strong for the Kyūbi to create problems, Ajisai couldn't tell. The fact remained that the Kyūbi had only aided her, instead of acting as a burden.

"…damn that hurts," Ajisai heard his strained voice, and without realizing she held her breath. Was this Naruto? Was Zetsu truly gone? She couldn't see Zetsu anymore, so-

* * *

During battle a shinobi has to be prepared for everything. 'Always expect the unexpected', this was the maxim which the teachers at the academy had repeated over and over again. It was easy enough when applied in theory, but in practice… the real world was always so much more difficult that how the books made it appear to be. Of course, even seasoned shinobi could make the same mistakes- it wasn't just a mistake that rookies made. To be stunned.

The battle had been difficult enough as it was, trying to break through the hordes of the Jūbi's spawn. With the toads, slugs, and the variety of monsters which Ajisai had called forth at their side the battle had slowly turned into their favor. Seemingly. Of course, whatever progress they made was soon enough lost, as this was a battle of attrition more than anything else. A battle of attrition against a creature of which they couldn't even sense the limits of its power, Hinata wondered why the others never seemed to realize that they were merely a distraction so that the real fight could be fought elsewhere. That crucial battle… it had been won.

And now they were facing something even worse. Without Takigakure's mighty tree holding down the Jūbi, the massive creature now roamed freely. Its spawn sped back to their creator, merging with whatever material posed as its flesh, returning the energy they carried.

'Expect the unexpected', 'a shinobi never shows his emotions', and all those hollow phrases could all go down the drain when faced with a creature that defies reason. Certainly, its sudden release hurt the morale of those she saw around her, more than it had done when they had first seen it. Exhaustion contributed, no doubt.

Idly, she wondered whether they had truly had success, or if they had merely made things worse. She didn't need to see Ino trying to get back to her feet, back from her trip through Zetsu's mind, nor did she need to see how Naruto and Ajisai were doing. Even from a distance, her byakugan allowed her to see it all.

Her cousin nodded, and he led his two teammates towards their Hokage. They'd need to change their strategy now, and while the majority of their clan had sided with those who preferred to wage war against Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Neji and Hinata were the only Hyūga that Tsunade had at her disposal. Of course, there were the likes of Suiren, skilled sensors, who could keep the Hokage informed of the status of the battlefield as well, but there was nothing as good as a Hyūga. That much pride did stick in her, even if she wasn't as bigoted and arrogant as the vast majority of the Hyūga clan.

No, Hyūga Hinata could see very well that there was no room for arrogance and foolish pride in this battle. Naruto was liberated, but at what cost? The Jūbi was growing, its emaciated humanoid form growing thicker and broader- akin to the difference between a scrawny teenager and a muscular adult.

"Suiren-san, could you take Ino-san away from the frontlines?" she turned to the green-haired kunoichi from Amegakure. "She exhausted most of her chakra while distracting Zetsu."

"I'm… fine," Ino muttered, although her failed attempt to stand up told a different story.

"From this range, even augmented by my byakugan, it is obvious that that jutsu has cost you too much chakra," Hinata shook her head in disagreement. "I cannot see Zetsu, but I'm not certain whether he has died."

"Right."

"So, you should focus on recovering your chakra, in case your jutsu is needed again."

"He won't be able to take over Naruto-kun again," Ino grit her teeth, annoyed that her body didn't do what she wanted it to do- namely continue to contribute to this battle. Although she could have realized, if she had taken the time to think about it, that her actions had tipped the scales. She was the one who had paused Zetsu, allowing Ajisai to transfer the other half of the Kyūbi.

"There is still the Jūbi we have to deal with," Suiren leaned in and picked the exhausted Yamanaka up from the ground. "You guys should join Tenten-san and her team."

"We'll do," Shikamaru muttered. "Come along Chōji, it seems your clan's jutsu are going to be important against a big creature such as that."

"I don't know if I…"

"Chōji, you kick that thing's ass," Ino scolded, although not with any ill intent. She just wanted to give the gentle Akimichi a nudge. Hinata couldn't say she was surprised by that, considering how Ino had always taken the central role in her team when it came to keeping everyone motivated.

She herself looked at Kiba and Shino, who both nodded. They showed more confidence than she felt, if she was honest with herself. Although, when she looked closer, she could see in the nearly unnoticeable movements of the both of them that they were just as afraid as she was.

'A shinobi never succumbs to his or her emotions.' Yes, well, the one who had written that textbook had obviously never been in a situation like this… even seasoned jōnin were shaking in their sandals right now.

* * *

There was an odd moment when the surreal feeling was only processed by some remote part of his mind. It was as if the crippling pain he felt in the right side of his body was something that someone else suffered. At the same time his stomach felt like he had swallowed a bottle of liquid fire. Fire that, as he thought about it, began to spread through his veins and muscles, even his very bones felt like they became brittle under the monstrous pressure. Was this his death? Was this, when he thought he had finally succeeded even when all the odds had been against him, the moment where he still ended up in failure?

" _ **No**_ ," the simple answer came from within.

He hadn't failed. It had been successful. Blinking when he tried to open his eyes, which seemingly weren't adjusted to the bright light of day, he attempted to gauge his surroundings. Some kind of humongous crustacean stood close, its pincers definitely seemed big enough to snap him in two.

" _ **Tsk, that petty crab wouldn't stand a chance,**_ _"_ the condescending chuckle that followed reminded him of his own power. Yeah, a mere summon would not be enough to halt him. Still, that summon… those chakra receivers were quite familiar. And not in the good way.

Needless to say that he stumbled back when he realized who stood in front of him. Orange hair, purple eyes with that eerie ripple-like pattern, it was enough to put him on the wrong track. At least, for a moment- when the tears that blinked underneath the legendary dōjutsu, and the impact of the body that now hugged him tightly…

"Aji-chan?" Naruto could barely believe what he was seeing.

"Naruto-kun," she didn't look up, but her one-armed hug only got tighter, desperately clinging to him. Now that he looked closer, he saw her broken left arm. He saw her shaking shoulder, as she cried to his chest.

"You're hurt…"

"I'm fine," she sniffled. "You?"

"Better than I ever thought I would be," Naruto couldn't help but smile brightly. They stood amidst a ruin of a village, filled with the remains of the slaughtered population, while an allied force of shinobi was facing the monstrously strong Jūbi, half his body felt like it was broken and reshuffled, and yet he had not felt this happy since before he had left Amegakure. So, what else could he do? He carefully avoided touching her injured arm, and lifted her from the ground with a hug of his own.

"I thought you were dead," he swallowed away his tears- at least, he tried. Ever since she had wriggled her way through the emotionless shell that he had created before he regained his memories, she had been able to affect him. From a logical point of view, he had even worried that her hold over him was too great. Since he had his memories back, things had only worsened… to the point where he didn't even realize how irrational he could act. With his memories back, however, it all made sense.

"I was," Ajisai kissed him on the cheek. "I was dead, but Pein- Nagato- brought me back. I was given his eyes, and…" she trailed off, suddenly a bit self-conscious about her changed hair color.

"Do you know what my favorite color was before Zetsu screwed me over?"

"Eh?"

"Orange," Naruto smirked. He put her down, much to her displeasure. "Give me your hands, Kurama wants to repay his debts. He seems to like you quite a bit."

" _ **Don't make me sound like a softy, meatbag, I'm only doing it because I owe her,**_ " Kurama growled from inside the seal. " _ **And you should hurry. The Jūbi seems to be preparing an attack. That flower-like thing that is budding on his back is bad news. Rein in your emotions and focus, because the battle isn't over yet.**_ "

"You're right," Naruto answered out loud, leading to him having to repeat Kurama's message to Ajisai. "And he insists that you give me both hands," he relayed another message. "Extracting his other half from your right arm practically destroyed your tenketsu there. He'll fix it, though they'll stay sore for a while."

"Well, a bit of pain is better than not being able to channel any chakra through my arm," she smiled happily. "How are we going to beat that thing?"

"Mokuton has been strong against every bijū in history, and with the full might of Kurama behind it…" Naruto shrugged. "Best odds we could possibly get. She and the crab are with you?" he nodded at Konan.

"She helped teach me how to wield the rinnegan," Ajisai grimaced. It was a little underhanded perhaps, but Naruto had deliberately distracted her at the moment he channeled Kurama's chakra into her arms. The broken bone setting itself was not a pleasant feeling. And the tenketsu of her right arm… Ajisai wondered when Kurama would consider something to be painful, because this felt worse than just 'sore'.

' _Rinnegan… I wonder what kind of dōjutsu that thing has. A red rinnegan with tomoe through it?_ ' he remained pensive for a few moments, halfheartedly waiting for the Kyūbi to fill in that blank. ' _And where is Zetsu?'_

" _ **Try to focus on the Jūbi first. After all the effort that that parasite put into keeping control over your body, Zetsu should be completely out of chakra, so you can hunt that accursed thing down at a later time,**_ " Kurama advised. " _ **As for what the Jūbi can do: I do not know. The Rikudō Sennin managed to defeat it, but was unable to kill it. He sealed it within himself. He said it was the most difficult battle he ever faced, but nothing about what it could do.**_ "

' _Only that the world would end if it should return,'_ Naruto recounted the words which Kurama had spoken earlier. "Aji-chan, you and Konan should join the others. Together, you'll stand stronger. Baa-chan, Ino-chan, and all the others will need our help."

"What about you?" she tried not to let it show, but Ajisai was displeased that he didn't want her at his side during this battle.

"I'll try to bind its movements. Hopefully my jutsu are able to drain it of some of its power as well. Though, Kurama mentioned that the Jūbi won't let me do that at my leisure, and he'll probably try to kill me while I try to bind it. That's where you and the others come in. I don't think I can win this without you," he smiled at his orange-haired girlfriend. "And you dropped this," he threw something small at her, before jumping towards the Jūbi.

Bewildered, Ajisai looked at the object that he had just given her. It was a familiar wooden ring, one she had been missing ever since she had been brought back to life. Whatever challenge lay ahead, she felt all worries vanish as she put her ring back where it belonged.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun," she muttered under her breath. "Let's go." Konan nodded, and the two of them rushed off towards the gathered shinobi.

* * *

Well, he had been warned- Kurama definitely had warned him twice. Before, it was only half, only Yang, but now… now it was so much more. Complete, balanced, both Yin and Yang combined; Kurama had grown vastly more powerful than before. The fact that the bijū had been forced to survive as only half of himself had only led to him getting stronger. The fox had seen injured humans struggle, gaining strength from adversity, but up till now he had never understood. Until Minato, there hadn't been anyone who had managed to truly injure a bijū.

Proud of his overwhelming power, Kurama had never realized how weakness could make a mind stronger. Perhaps it was this pride that had enabled that accursed Uchiha to enslave him, Kurama could but guess. It was irrelevant now. He was a whole again, more aware of his true strength than ever before. Even with the portion that Zetsu had stolen to fuel the Gedō Mazō, Kurama knew he had surpassed his old self.

The true question was: is it enough?

Cooperation was no strange thing for them anymore, especially not after Pein, where Kurama had covered as an impromptu strategist. That was where the two had fully realized how devastating their combined power could be. It was for that reason that Kurama had repeatedly warned the jinchūriki.

"We've grown stronger."

" _ **Thanks for notifying me, Captain Obvious**_ _._ "

"Oh wow, is that sarcasm I hear? How surprising," Naruto rolled his eyes. "I did tell ya that I'd go all out on that ugly son of a bitch."

" _ **Yes, after which, I told you not to overdo it,**_ " Kurama retorted. Even if Naruto couldn't see his 'inner fox', the tone of voice was enough to convey the deadpan expression. " _ **Now that you've created something of equal size, why not focus on tearing that bastard down?**_ _"_

"It's not like I deliberately tried to show off," Naruto sighed. "Oh well, I might as well add a few dragons while we're at it."

" _ **Sure… why not waste all of our chakra while fighting an opponent whose reserves completely overshadow ours. Think, brat. We've got to be more careful!**_ "

"Okay, no dragons," Naruto scratched the back of his head, smiling sheepishly. Entering sage mode had not taken much time. It was surprising how much easier it went now that their combined reserves had grown so much. Greater reserves drastically reduced the risk of losing control over the gathered amounts of nature energy.

Still, Naruto had not expected that Senpō Mokuton: Shin Jūichimen Kan'on (Sage Art Wood Release: the True Eleven-Headed Kan'on) would be affected as well. If possible, the eleven-headed Kan'on was even larger than before. Naruto stood atop its head, amidst the eleven heads that adorned its crown. Tuning out the influx of sensations, of the suffering around him, Naruto looked at the Jūbi and was bemused by the thought that it suddenly didn't seem as huge anymore.

Oh, it was still larger than the Kan'on, but it was a completely different view than from down on the ground. From down below, the Jūbi looked down upon you and you thought there was no chance in hell you'd ever be able to harm it. From up here… from up here, things suddenly did not seem as impossible any more.

It was a foolish notion, yes, Naruto knew it all too well. The overwhelming difference in power could not even be expressed in words. Senjutsu sharpened his senses, made him better a sensor than practically any other shinobi, and yet Naruto could not sense the limits of the Jūbi's power. It was almost as if he tried to sense nature itself: there was endless, boundless amounts of energy. The chaotic flow of it made it only more difficult to get a grasp of the extent of its power.

" _ **Bind its movements and try to suppress and drain it**_ ," Kurama repeated.

Not bothering to respond, Naruto commanded the Kan'on forward. The Jūbi howled in response, as if it answered the challenge. Oddly, it first turned around, biting the giant tree of Takigakure.

' _What the-_ ' Before he could finish the thought, the tree began to shrink. "The bastard is absorbing the tree," Naruto growled. "Mokuton Hijutsu: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees)."

Trees rose up around the Jūbi, creeping up, trying to bind it. It was merely a small inconvenience to the creature. Perhaps it was underestimating Naruto, perhaps it simply wasn't any smarter, but the fact remained that the Jūbi stayed put until the Kan'on had closed in.

"Mokuton: Hotei no Jutsu," Naruto grunted, clapping his hands together. Several gigantic wooden hands erupted from the ground, moving up and grabbing the Jūbi. As they held it, the massive hands of Kan'on also took a hold of the creature. "Mokuton: Mokuryū no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique)," he added, spawning several dragons which sank its chakra-draining fangs into the Jūbi.

"Senpō: Myōjinmon (Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates)," the jinchūriki followed up immediately after. Wooden gates, crimson tori, fell down from above. Naruto had used the attack before, to immobilize the Kyūbi. It seemed it was just as successful at binding the Jūbi. A gate fell on each of its ten tails, and several even greater gates held down its torso and arms.

"How'd you like that, bastard," Naruto panted. Whether Kurama was complete or not, an onslaught like this consumed insane amounts of chakra. Naruto felt that his sage mode had already run out, and created a wooden clone to keep control of the Kan'on. He _had_ to take a few moments to refuel, even though Kurama urged him to hurry.

" _ **Something is off…**_ _**this is too easy.**_ "

"I know," Naruto frowned. "But its flesh is strangely wood-like, perhaps that's why my jutsu have a stronger effect than you expected?"

" _ **A creature this powerful, no matter how mindless it has acted up till now, should not be bound this easily. It should've tried to evade, or tried to break free when the restraints were weaker. No… this isn't right.**_ "

* * *

Awe, that was the only word she could use to describe what she saw. With her doujutsu, she could easily see the insane amounts of chakra that had been used in this fast combination of jutsu. Especially the red gates, or whatever the things were that pinned down the Jūbi, they were awe-inspiring. The Jūbi howled and struggled weakly, but seemed unable to escape.

' _Perhaps our plans were a bit premature,'_ Ajisai smiled proudly, idly touching the ring that once against adorned her finger. He was definitely the most impressive man in the world- not just because of his power, but because of his will. And yet, he was a gentle soul, in spite of everything he had gone through. ' _Ironic, Ame's society is focused on strength, but I fell for him because of his personality.'_

That didn't mean she wasn't thoroughly impressed by his power, though. On the contrary, she had respected that in him from the moment she first met… ' _No, when I first met him, he wasn't dressed,'_ Ajisai smiled at the memory. Him opening the door in his birthday suit was not something she had expected at that point- at all.

All she had seen at that time was an attractive, naked young man, whom she was ordered to guard and show around the village; at that point, she hadn't even known that he was part of Akatsuki, nor how strong he truly was. When she realized who he truly was, though, she had feared his reaction. She hadn't been respectful enough, and considering the behavior she had been used to from people from his caliber… well, Nagato had declared himself to be a god, for one, while their previous leader, Hanzō, had cut down anyone who even dared to look at him the wrong way. Not Naruto, though; he had insisted on being treated as an equal, and if she used honorifics it only annoyed him.

Looking down at her ring, she couldn't believe that he had fallen for someone as mundane as her. ' _I'm worthy to be his partner now,'_ she thought, with more than a little pride. While she was well aware that he thought of it as nonsense, gaining the rinnegan had given Ajisai the feeling that she was closer to him. No matter what he'd say, she knew she had been inferior to him; it was a pattern of thought that was too deeply ingrained for her to simply ignore it, but now she felt differently.

But first things first. Looking at the assembly of creatures that she had summoned, that now stood around her, she wondered how they'd dispose of the Jūbi. Naruto held it down, while the forces of Konoha and Amegakure quickly moved to surround it- they'd use whatever jutsu they had at their disposal to immobilize the Jūbi, and if possible, aid Naruto's dragons in draining the Jūbi's chakra.

"Attack," she ordered, even though a simple thought would have sufficed. These summons were linked to her after all. Tuning out their sight had been the only thing that she had needed to train on a little. It was quite disorienting to see things from multiple points of view simultaneously.

" **You humans are truly annoying.** "

"You!" Ajisai turned around to see Black Zetsu rise up from the ground.

" **Yes. Me** ," Zetsu smiled viciously.

Suddenly the whole world turned and shifted, in a nauseating shift of her surroundings. Chakra pulsed and convulsed. Her senses had blackened out for a few moments before she finally caught herself again. When she realized where she was, she stood atop Naruto's lumbering Kan'on, and to her dismay the Jūbi was gone…

"What… What is that tree?" Ajisai gasped. "Where did that tree come from?"

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Indeed, where did that tree come from? You'll find out next time…

I was tempted to write out the battle between Ajisai and Zetsu/Naruto in a much longer fashion, but considering how I already did the rinnegan versus mokuton thing before… it felt too repetitive. And it would be silly to expect that Ajisai could do what Pein could not. Besides, the stakes of this battle were completely different. Ajisai gambles it all on one move, while Zetsu was merely biding his time, waiting for the Juubi to refill its vast reserves. Ajisai royally messed up Zetsu's schedule, though. He sure is one pissed-off piece of lettuce right now.

Credits for ta editing go to **Illuminated** \- even if I'm driving you mad with ta use of 'ta' with ta old toads ;-)

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	25. Deception

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Twenty Five**

 **Deception**

* * *

" _Yes, I am a dreamer. For a dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world."_

― Oscar Wilde

* * *

"Are you certain that this is the right choice?" Inoichi couldn't help but wonder if the trust he had in his oldest friend hadn't led him astray. His daughter had followed their Hokage, while he had joined the rest of the Konoha's forces. Why? He could argue that he did this because he was the leader of the Yamanaka clan, but if he was honest with himself, he'd rather be with his daughter. Sadly, this was one of those many cases where his duties were outweighing his personal wishes.

"Do you think we should instead trust a letter sent by a girl who isn't even officially leading her village?" Shikaku snorted. "No… you know very well that I would not go to war if I could avoid it, Inoichi- but this situation is too perfect an opportunity. Kiri is too divided to interfere, Suna too weak, so who is to stop us from exploiting the war between Iwa and Kumo? Those fools started this by themselves."

"I know that you act under the presumption that there is nothing left that could threaten our village," Inoichi sighed. "But what if Tsunade is right?"

"Do you still trust her capabilities? Her temper was always a weak point in her character, but to blatantly disregard the council and rush off with a force of her own… well, she made her decision. She chose to chase ghosts over doing her actual duty, proving that her critics were actually correct," the unusually talkative Nara couldn't muster much respect for the Senju. "Her quest showed me that we should reconsider her position. I wonder why she just did not accept that, and persisted with those fantasies that he was kidnapped. After all, there have been multiple witnesses who have seen Naruto leave the battlefield, as well as those who have seen him travel through Hi no Kuni."

"But why would he have done that?"

"Why?" Shikaku turned to look at his friend. "He already stated clearly enough that he didn't particularly care about our village anymore. All we need is for him to keep out of this. For too long, we have suffered the equilibrium between villages. For too long, our shinobi have fought and died for nothing. Today, we have a chance to shatter that equilibrium. Two villages are at each other's throats, weakening each other. Who is to stop us from swooping in and taking out two of our competitors?"

"It is _logical_ ," Inoichi spoke the last word as if it were dirty. "The logical thing to do, for sure, but is it _right_?"

"What is right or wrong is determined by the victors," the Nara shrugged. "Morality and ethics are subject to cultural influences and personal opinions. They aren't somehow magically fixed entities. And even if it is wrong, who cares? It will be decided by history, and those who are victorious write that history."

"You would go through with this plan despite knowing that it is wrong?"

"There are too many grudges between our villages. Even if that greenhorn who thinks herself to be a kage _believes_ that peace is as easily attained as just offering it to the others, the both of us know that there are too many grudges on both sides to ever accommodate a lasting peace. And do I need to mention that we have a shot at ending Kumogakure's greed? They have been hoarding power for decades- just ask Hiashi about that. Do you want them to snatch away _your_ daughter, Inoichi?"

"…"

"The only feasible path to a lasting peace is for us to eliminate our competitors. An idealist might say that we should give Iwa the benefit of the doubt, but a realist would know that my words are true. Now is the time for Konoha to rise to dominance, and to put an end to this long struggle for power. Tell me, does that make me evil?" Shikaku questioned. "Even if it does, in my opinion it is worse to waste the opportunity we have been presented. If we act now, our children and all the generations to come do not have to suffer the pointless bloodshed we have experienced. For that… for that, I gladly become a villain."

Yamanaka Inoichi remained silent, not knowing what to say. Was Tsunade right, with her faith in Kurotsuchi? A lot would depend on how trustworthy that girl's promise was. Did she have enough sway over her village and her council to actually back up her words? The fact that she wasn't yet the official Tsuchikage spoke against her. Meanwhile, the good judgment of Tsunade was also something that could be put to discussion. Inoichi knew better than most, even if his daughter was rather tight-lipped about the matter, that the Senju was emotionally fragile.

' _What should I say? Should I join the others, and participate in a war that brings peace, or should I try to advocate for peace, knowing that this choice would most likely lead to more wars in the future?'_ Inoichi looked at his friend. The Nara was going over the strategic map, revisiting his plans with the latest intel provided by the Sensor Division.

' _Is it evil to sacrifice a few for the good of the many? Is it worse to act self-righteously, knowing that I would condemn many more to die in inevitable future conflicts if I refuse to dirty my own hands? This choice seems to be between the lesser of two evils.'_

* * *

The whole thing was a mess, really. The tree, one of the most recognizable aspects of the village, was gone, while the village itself… all that was left was ruins. When he had first 'visited' Takigakure, along with Kakuzu, the village was already not the most prosperous. Not that the village radiated an aura of poverty or anything, but the differences between a major village and a small one such as Taki were clearly visible. Of course, once Kakuzu had left the place, dragged away by Naruto, Takigakure had already been scarred.

Right now, there wasn't a scarred village anymore. The battle had transformed the place into a crater, an ugly scar on the landscape. The Jūbi, unable to break free, kept thrashing around. As a testament to its power, its tails destroyed the mountains surrounding the former village as if they were made out of cardboard. More than one White Zetsu was caught in the destruction, flattened by boulders that were tumbling down.

Of course, those cowardly clones didn't dare to come close anymore. If they came too close to his chakra, Naruto knew what would happen to them. Especially now that Kurama was complete, his chakra was so 'full of life'- Kurama's words, not his- that Zetsu would lose his consistency and turn into a tree.

' _Kinda makes you wonder what those bastards are made of,'_ he idly groused, while scanning the battlefield. Kurama was nervous, as the Jūbi should have been able to put up more of a fight. Naruto agreed with the cunning fox, knowing all too well that it was wise to heed the fox's warnings. Things were definitely going too smoothly.

The assembly of shinobi, in which Naruto saw hitai-ate from both Konoha and Ame, was circling around the Jūbi, firing jutsu after jutsu while his dragons kept sapping chakra from the creature. Still, even though he had recharged sage mode, Naruto could not sense the Jūbi weakening at all.

The logical conclusion would be that it was waiting for something. But for what did it wait? The White Zetsu clones were incapable of doing anything, and each of Akatsuki's members had perished. All except Black Zetsu. It irked him that he couldn't detect Black Zetsu. Standing atop his strongest jutsu, the Jūichimen Kan'on, Naruto kept a close eye on all the players left on the field.

' _Could it be that Konan betrays us?'_ he wondered. No, the woman was leading the Ame nin, and was attacking the Jūbi with everything she had. On the other side of the Jūbi, Tsunade was leading the Konoha nin. She, too, seemed to be at his side. What other players were left that could change the game? Maito Gai? ' _Neh, his taijutsu is impressive, but he's just a jōnin. He's not the type to side with the Jūbi,'_ Naruto scowled.

No, there was but one person with the potential to change the battlefield at this point. And she would never side against him. Naruto was willing to lay down his life for that.

" _ **That means there's only one option left,**_ " Kurama growled angrily. Ironically, he did so at the very moment that Naruto detected Black Zetsu's presence. If he hadn't been looking in the right direction he doubted if he could have sensed the stealthy bastard at all, but luck was at his side for once.

"I can make it… I gotta improvise. Senpō: Kawarimi no Jutsu," Naruto simply combined two jutsu, mashing them together on the fly. Ajisai was encased in wood, and she and Naruto substituted. It was nothing like the regular Body Replacement Technique, but he had to improvise.

" **You!** "

"Me," Naruto smirked when he saw Black Zetsu's startled expression. He stomped one foot on the ground, forcing his chakra through the earth. He wouldn't allow the evasive Zetsu to escape once more. ' _Especially not after he dared to target Aji-chan.'_

" **D** **o you truly think you can stop the inevitable?** " Black Zetsu looked down, obviously noticing that Naruto had tried to cut off his escape route.

"Watch me," the jinchūriki glared back. "Senpō Mokuton: Kan'on Ryote (Sage Art Wood Release: Kanon's hands)." A replica of the left hand of the Kan'on shot from the ground, its speed surprising Zetsu, who completely failed to dodge. Before Zetsu fully processed what Naruto had done, the hand held his legs, its thorns piercing Zetsu's black 'flesh'.

" **You really are an unexpectedly great annoyance** ," Zetsu grunted, ignoring the pain he felt. " **But I have lived for centuries. Did you think that I would go down easily?** "

"You'll die, no matter how you'll try to squirm your way out of this one."

" **The Jūbi will grow. The tree will rise. And then the day of reckoning is upon your species! You dared to impede my exalted mother.** "

"And here I thought that your white half was the insane one," Naruto spat. "Just hurry up and die already, you backstabbing piece of shit."

" **It took much effort to get the Mizukage and Raikage to cooperate, but once I made sure the Hokage wouldn't do a thing to stop them… it was fun to destroy your clan, Uzumaki Naruto,** " Black Zetsu laughed.

Naruto was starting to think that the parasitic creature had completely lost it, except for the fact that the fall of the Uzumaki clan sounded exactly like one of Zetsu's schemes- and the Hokage had, willingly or not, played a part in that?! The wooden hand of the Kan'on clenched, crushing Zetsu's legs. This didn't really accomplish much, considering how Black Zetsu had a rather fluid body, but it felt satisfactory nonetheless.

" **Fūin** ," Zetsu still chuckled. " **How delightful that you will be destroyed by the jutsu your ancestors guarded with their lives.** "

Naruto choked and nearly lost his balance, when something oppressive connected to his body. He heard Kurama scream warnings, but could only watch with a morbid fascination at the intricate pattern that appeared underneath his feet. Now it made sense to him why Black Zetsu had disappeared for a while. He had been preparing this, and targeted Ajisai to seal… to seal what?

" _ **The Jūbi,**_ " Kurama cried out in panic. " _ **Stop that bastard! He's sealing the Jūbi in you!**_ "

"I would… if I could," Naruto stammered. "I can't move," his eyes turned to the Jūbi, which had suddenly stopped resisting its binds. Its enormous eye focused upon the blond jinchūriki. But Naruto could not really keep his attention on what the Jūbi did. He looked at his Moku Bunshin, and to Ajisai, disoriented, at its side. The rough jutsu he had used to get her to safety had apparently not gone without a hitch. Wordlessly, Naruto nodded at his clone, ordering it to move back and take Ajisai away.

" **I might die today, but the tree will bloom, and your world will be rent asunder!** " Zetsu shouted with the last of his power. The chakra injected from the left hand of the Kan'on had spread, blossoming into a lethal poison, and after centuries of scheming, Zetsu's quest had finally come to a close. The parasitic entity died with a smile, knowing that he had succeeded, he had fulfilled his purpose.

Naruto stumbled. All things faded from his sight. Sounds were silenced. Lights were dimmed. Smells evaporated. Only the chill of the Jūbi's endless chakra crept through his body. With it, a voice came. It was a voice, so sweet and soothing, enticing yet commanding without tolerating any disobedience, a voice which commanded him to do something…

Something…

What was he doing?

What was she saying?

Why was he listening to her?

Something left his body, something grew higher than any tree he had ever spawned. Its roots went deeper than anything he had every felt. It was everywhere. _He_ was everywhere. The world suddenly felt so small. So fragile. They weren't caught in the genjutsu, as they should be, but it mattered little to him- to her. The sequence was of little importance now. All he needed- all she needed- was to reclaim what was hers.

Hers?

"Shin: Jukai Kōtan (God: Nativity of a World of Trees)," he heard himself say, repeating what that female voice whispered him to say. Then, what little was left of his consciousness was dragged inside. The alluring voice drew him closer and closer.

* * *

She had made fun of him. She had ridiculed him in whatever way she could get away with- that he let her get away with. She teasing him, while he grumpily played his own part in their usual play, it had been how she had imagined herself to be doing this, for him to be there, at her side, giving her the guidance he had always given- the guidance she desperately needed, the guidance that she had always taken for granted.

Regret- that was what she felt most during these days. It had numbed her heart, even if her mind was straining to cope with an overwhelming amount of information that she had to process, and decisions she had to make. She had always made fun of him when he made a fuss when nothing was going on, when nothing _seemed_ to be going on. Only now, she realized that he had put so much effort into his duties in order to keep it like that, to maintain that façade, in order for the rest of the village to only have to worry about trivialities. For decades, he had ensured that Iwagakure no Sato endured.

And now that task had fallen to her.

It pained Kurotsuchi to admit that she was not ready for such a daunting task. There was just too much going on, all at the same time, for her to maintain her usually calm and easy-going demeanor. She was tired, cranky, and mourning. She was mourning the death of her grandfather, slain by the treacherous Raikage, but also the death of her father Kitsuchi.

Those self-righteous fools of Kumogakure actually had declared war upon Iwagakure. The very moment the war against Amegakure had ended, the very moment the word had spread that the Tsuchikage and Raikage had fallen in battle, the forces from Kumo had marched to their borders.

The shinobi from Iwagakure had valiantly defended the borders, but although they fought on their own familiar grounds, they were at a disadvantage from the very start. Kumo's forces had been scattered over the nations, cleaning out the Akatsuki hideouts, but they had lost relatively few. Iwagakure, on the other hand, had participated in a battle where many had met their untimely ends. Due to the trickery of Zetsu and the betrayal of the Raikage and his jōnin, Kurotsuchi had lost many good men and women who could have given her the edge over the invading army.

Instead, they had found themselves outnumbered and outmatched, fighting and retreating each day. It was a war in the trenches, quite literally, as they made Kumo fight for every inch of ground, and it had brought only misery to both sides. So many had died… and why? If anyone should have been outraged, it was them, not Kumo, as the Raikage had slain their Tsuchikage!

' _I wish gramps was still here,_ ' Kurotsuchi thought wistfully. ' _He would know what to do, even in this mess. Then again, I doubt he would have approved of the letter I sent to Konoha. He would never have asked for an alliance.' S_ he firmly believed that Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki would have found some way to avoid this mess. And if it had happened anyway, he would have put on a show and disintegrated a few squads. A good scare would have changed the minds of Kumo's shinobi. After all, what kind of idiot would willingly face someone with the Jinton kekkei tota?

Yes, Kurotsuchi, acting Tsuchikage during this invasion, wanted her grandpa to still be alive. She wanted her father to be at her side too, grumpy and annoying as he could be. She wanted rest. ' _I'm too tired. I should get some sleep, but how can I rest while all these men and women are risking their lives out there? They're depending on me to find a way out of this mess.'_

She sighed deeply. Her eyes were drawn to the map, where the current status of the battlefield was drawn. How long could they maintain this, before the Kumo nin would reach the village? How long would these invaders be able to keep pushing them back? Surely they would have to get exhausted at some point as well, right?

A large figure rushed into her tent. Before she recognized his chakra, she saw his silhouette. It was the 'shield' of the Tsuchikage, Akatsuchi, one of the best jōnin left in her army. And rather than wearing the grim expression he had shown during their attempt to thwart the invasion, he was now actually smiling. It was a tired and, literally, dirty smile, as if he had rushed straight from the front lines to here, still covered in dust and blood.

"They're here!"

"Who is?"

"They've used the setting sun, and whatever else they could, to hide their approach. Now they are rushing towards the left flank," Akatsuchi continued, ignoring her question. "They should be hitting Kumo's forces as we speak."

"I might not be the Tsuchikage officially, but I'd like it if you at least answered my questions," Kurotsuchi tried to resist the urge to lash out against him. She was too tired and too worried to have an excess of patience.

"Konoha!"

"Why didn't you say so immediately?" she snapped, rushing out of the tent. To her elation, she saw chaos spread through the ranks of the Kumogakure shinobi. Squads of Konoha nin were surgically striking key points in the Kumo army. She had gotten a reply only one hour ago, stating that Konoha would send reinforcements. So, either the messenger hawk had been slow, or the message had been sent late. Anyway, Kurotsuchi was relieved to see that they had answered her request; well, it was a plea, and she knew it.

An explosion caught her attention. It was too close.

"What the…" her eyes widened. The Konoha nin had split into two large groups, one striking the Kumo forces, while the other half descended upon her own shinobi. "Traitors!" she cried out. "You filthy, hypocritical, backstabbing traitors!"

Akatsuchi could not recall ever having seen the young woman this angry. While she was usually easy-going, she had been particularly angry when Deidara had defected. But that was nothing like this… right now, she looked as if she could exterminate the whole lot of their enemies with one glare.

"Kurotsuchi-sama," he instinctively used a honorific he'd never used for her before, "we should call everyone back and organize our-"

The ground started to tremble, and suddenly a wave of strange chakra pulsed through the area. Some men stumbled and fell, spouting trees from their bodies as they died. This occurred within her own ranks, but she saw the same confusion within the Kumo and Konoha ranks just as well.

Although she did not know, and could not see it, Shikaku was shocked to see his cousin undergo the same fate. He, however, quickly connected the facts, and paled. This was what had happened to the White Zetsu clones that had gotten too close to Naruto. This meant that that pulse of chakra originated from the jinchūriki as well. Worse was the fact that it showed how Zetsu had infiltrated their ranks. This particular cousin, Shikaku remembered, was the person who had provided the information that had convinced him that Naruto had merely defected, rather than being abducted like Tsunade had claimed.

Across the field, the Kumo nin saw several of their men and women turn into trees, although none realized that these had all been particularly vocal supporters of this invasion. Unlike Shikaku, they did not realize that they had been manipulated. Granted, none were given the time to process the events properly- there weren't many strategists in the world that could outthink a Nara- and Shikaku was the best of his clan for a reason. Not even Shikaku could have foreseen what was coming now, though.

The earth stopped trembling. Enormous tree roots shot up, tearing open the soil. The attack was as sudden as it was devastating, and before Kurotsuchi could do as much as blink, many of the gathered shinobi had fallen victim to whatever jutsu it was that Naruto had cast.

What Kurotsuchi did notice, however, was that the attack was completely indiscriminate. Akatsuchi protected her as well as he could, but there were too many. Everywhere roots shot up, entangling people, trapping them into cocoon-like shells. It wasn't until she fell victim to the jutsu herself that she understood why those who were captured in those cocoons did not break free.

* * *

Even if they were not caught in any genjutsu, Shin: Jukai Kōtan was more than capable of subduing every living thing. Surely, it was more difficult to drain the targets of their chakra, and they would not be transformed into the loyal minions that the Zetsu were, but the jutsu did what it was supposed to do nonetheless.

All over the world, the same thing happened. A pulse of chakra affected every White Zetsu in the world, causing the instant extermination of their kind. Each and every clone was hit, causing them to destabilize and sprout out as trees. All over the world, there were those who saw their friends, family, and loved ones change. Leaders saw their most trusted advisors turn into trees. Generals lost their best messengers. All throughout the social systems of mankind, there were many in important, yet unimposing, positions who had turned out to be spies. Such was the extent of Zetsu's infiltration.

Not just Iwa, Kumo, and Konoha were thrown in confusion, but Kirigakure and Sunagakure were affected as well. Temari had been in the middle of a heated debate with her village's councilors when two of the elders suddenly turned into trees. Unknown to her, the impersonator of the daimyo of Kaze no Kuni- the only daimyo that had been successfully replaced by Zetsu- perished as well.

In Mizu no Kuni, the time for debates had already been passed. The grudges and disagreements had grown out of control in the typical way for their nation, as the people were too hot-headed and vengeful for their own good. No matter how Terumi Mei had exerted herself, a civil war had proven to be unavoidable. However, aside from some early skirmishes, both sides were still regrouping and strategizing. The 'loyalists', who still believed in Yagura's doctrine, were outnumbered but knew that this did not mean much, as the 'rebels', who now ruled Kirigakure, had been victorious from their underdog position.

Imagine the surprise when men and women on both sides suddenly turned into trees. Both sides briefly accused the other of this act, before the branches of the Shinju rose from the earth and gathered all.

All over the world, people tried to resist, tried to escape the inevitable, before they were caught. Some lasted longer, like Mei or Temari, while others were caught before they even realized what happened.

Zetsu had done his work well, and in each army and group there was division and discontent. Distrust prevented allies from properly fighting side-by-side, which might have given them a slight chance at victory. Against Naruto's mastery of the mokuton kekkei genkai, however, all struggles soon proved to be futile. Sunagakure, weakened to the point that it was afraid and defensive, fell. Kirigakure, torn in civil war, fell. Kumogakure, with the majority of its shinobi misguidedly invading another nation, fell. Iwagakure, already struggling to defend itself, fell. Even Konoha stood no chance.

All fell before the might of the Shinju, all failed against the skill of Uzumaki Naruto. Only one remained: the last conscious and free human being, one who had seen all her friends and allies being caught by Naruto's onslaught- Ajisai.

She, with her rinnegan, had seen it happen.

Naruto's clone had spent all of its chakra using the Jūichimen Kan'on to protect her, and after it fell she was forced to rely on her own powers. Shinra Tensei was useful, without a doubt, and one of the strongest jutsu that existed… but the seconds she needed to wait after each usage was a glaring weakness.

Why had this happened? Ajisai had seen Black Zetsu rise from the ground, seemingly targeting her, and then she had been moved to the top of Naruto's enormous wooden Buddha-like statue. Then all hell had broken loose. A truly enormous tree had risen up, one which put even Takigakure's old tree- the one which the Jūbi had somehow consumed- in its shadow. The burst of chakra that came from Naruto right after that had blinded her for a moment, showing the downside of a dōjutsu that could see chakra.

Never before had she seen a chakra signature as potent as his. Naruto had always been extremely powerful, and was even more so since she had reunited the two halves of the Kyūbi. But right now… right now his power was simply absurd. With her summons at her side, Ajisai slowly worked her way through the onslaught of tree roots that all tried to ensnare her in a cocoon, like the tree had done to all others she had seen. Tsunade, Konan, Suiren, Ino, she could not see any of them anymore, not even the toads.

Every cocoon looked the same to her, the tree's chakra completely masking the signature of those within. ' _I can't keep this up all alone,'_ Ajisai didn't fail to notice that her own chakra reserves were slowly dwindling. Besides, to properly act, she needed to know what this jutsu was, what it was supposed to do to its victims. All she had seen was an enormous tree filled with an ominous energy, while its roots gathered all the shinobi that were nearby. ' _Perhaps if I know the purpose of the jutsu, I can find a weakness in it. And if I can free people from it, they would be able to help me out._ '

Alas, it was easier thought than done.

Getting near those cocoons meant that she had to get closer to the thicker roots to which the cocoons were attached. Getting closer to those roots meant that the attacks intensified. Still, she had to take a risk. Playing it safe in this already desperate situation was no option anyway.

What she found was that the cocoons were surprisingly easy to break- from the outside, at least. Those trapped inside, however, seemed completely subdued. She had found a Konoha kunoichi, a jōnin by the looks of it, who barely seemed to register Ajisai's attempts to free her. Ajisai could see how the chakra of the tree completely overwhelmed its victim, and if she was not mistaken it had slowly started to drain the kunoichi of her chakra.

Ajisai could not tell for what purpose. She was not granted the time to investigate, and lost her summoned panda before she got out of the web of roots that had tried to trap her. Obviously, her actions had drawn attention.

Her eyes only caught a hint of a movement before the sound of a crash entered her ears. Naruto… no, someone who looked like Naruto had noticed her. His skin and hair were as pale as White Zetsu, and a strange bone-like thing adorned his forehead. It somewhat resembled a hitai-ate, only without a symbol. What was even stranger was that two horns grew out of the bone thing.

His eyes were closed, yet it did not seem to hinder him in the slightest. Before Ajisai even got a proper look at him, he had already planted a foot in her stomach- sending her flying. Ignoring the pain, Ajisai quickly scrambled to her feet.

"Shinra Tensei!"

More on instinct than with any conscious thought, she halted his follow-up attack. It did not seem to stop him for long, though. He now wore rough black pants, walked on bare feet, and had his torso covered by some sort of white robe. This robe had six black magatama markings across the chest and nine black magatama markings in three rows of three on the back.

Those symbols were odd, but they weren't what made his current appearance so odd to her. With her eyes, she could see that these 'clothes' were not what they appeared to be. The pants and the robe were constructs of pure chakra. She couldn't tell why he'd create such a chakra cloak, but she could see that it would shield him from practically any jutsu.

"Naruto-kun, what are you doing? Get back to your senses, please!" she pleaded. She didn't understand why he was suddenly doing this. What had Zetsu done to him? Why was his chakra so similar to that of that monstrous tree?

"…ru…to…?" his voice was almost mechanical, as if he did not know how to use it.

"Do you even understand what I'm saying?"

"…"

"What did Zetsu do to you?!"

"…"

"Are you giving up this easily?" Ajisai whispered. "Don't you even try to resist whatever it is that Zetsu did to you?"

Naruto raised his arms, perpendicular to his torso, and from his opened hands two black blobs of chakra emerged. Ajisai tried to look past the empty expression on his face, tried to ignore that he still had not opened his eyes, and looked at those black orbs of chakra instead. It wasn't like she couldn't distinguish a single nature transformation in that chakra, but rather that she saw it _all_. Doton, raiton, fūton, katon, and suiton, she saw it all being balanced and merged in that black chakra.

To any other person, that chakra would've formed a nigh unstoppable attack. Sure, Ajisai was surprised to see one of the black orbs fly at her, as she didn't expect anyone to use a chakra with such density for a ranged attack. But the abilities of Preta Path were always hungry, regardless of what type of chakra it was.

The chakra-made robe flickered, destabilizing for a fraction of a second, while Naruto tilted his head. He seemed confused by the sudden disappearance of his attack. The momentary lapse of concentration showed that his chakra wasn't as strong as she initially thought. Well, it was still far too strong, that was obvious, but it was also strangely divided. Conflicted.

"…sai…run," he strained to talk. "She… close…"

* * *

Darkness. As far as his eye could see, there was this endless and despairing darkness. Apart from all this nothingness, the only thing that he could distinguish were the branches that kept him in place. They tied him, bound him in such a way that he could barely move a muscle. The constant pressure of battling the white-grey and brown branches, which constricted him to the point that they seemed to be intent on tearing him asunder, was threatening to make him lose his sanity.

He already was lost, or so he felt. A weariness, a mind-numbing apathy, had taken hold of him. Why was he here, what was he doing, where would he go? All such questions had seemed important once, yet held so little meaning now. What did it all matter? Everything he did came crashing down in failure anyway. He'd lose whatever he gained, fall whenever he managed to stand up, and it all changed nothing about the world around him. It was…

No, he couldn't think like that. Ajisai was alive again. Kurama depended on him. If he lost now, the Jūbi would rise, swallowing up the poor fox- who'd be condemned to a fate worse than death. Unlike the mortal soul, which would pass on to the Pure Land, Kurama's entire existence would be erased. The creature that he had once been a part of would reclaim him, absorb him until finally all aspects of the personality he had developed over the course of the last centuries…

It was irrelevant. Duties, hopes, they were all just burdens, ties that kept him from moving. They were strings that made him a puppet in the hands of others. Everything which he had held important was just as futile as the matters of any other human. He, like any other mortal, was a lesser creature whose only reason to exist was to…

Wait, what? Why did he feel like that? ' _It's like there are two voices in my head, battling for dominance_ ,' he sighed wearily. He was tired. Caught in the crossfire between both opinions, he felt only his fatigue. He was tired because he had to keep resisting the branches that threatened to tear him apart. What the other two voices wanted… it all seemed so cumbersome.

Indeed. Resistance is futile.

No, do not give up. Think of Ajisai, think of Kurama. What would happen to them? What would happen to Tsunade, to Ino, to everyone?

Foolishness. They'd all die eventually. It would be better for them if their deaths were to serve a higher purpose.

' _I am nowhere. There's no escape from here. Not only that, but it's a burden to keep myself together. Why are those two opposing opinions even important to me, if I can't even do a single thing to liberate myself?'_ Naruto groaned when the branches around his right arm tightened and threatened to pull the limb off his torso. ' _And yet… I cannot allow myself to fail. I cannot fail Aji-chan. I cannot condemn Kurama to such a fate… I must… endure…'_

"Humans have always struggled to delay the inevitable," a female voice came from the darkness that surrounded him. Naruto recognized the voice, as it was the same which had he heard before he ended up in this… this… whatever this place was supposed to be.

"Who are you?" Naruto growled.

"Curiosity, even at the very end, your short-lived race never seems to lose that quality. Unfortunately, that curiosity by far exceeds your capacity to understand," the female voice sounded oddly disappointed. "Perhaps that is why they turned against me…"

"You will fail, Jūbi!"

"Your resistance is commendable," the voice regained the slightly amused edge it had before she spoke of those who had turned against her. "But now it ends. Pride yourself in the fact that you managed to last this long, and rest. Live your dream. Your suffering has lasted long enough."

Even if it was involuntary, the darkness that followed after her word grabbed a hold of his mind, and he welcomed it. Whether he was truly glad that it ended or not, he could not tell. His heart felt corrupted by the opposing ideals. The pain of the branches tearing at him was irrelevant compared to the feeling he had that his own mind had been invaded.

Had he lost this struggle before it had even started?

* * *

Blinking his eyes, he tried to shut out the annoying light. He stifled a yawn, though failed horribly at doing so. Reorienting himself, he noticed that the sheets were a mess, all sweaty and twisted around him. Obviously, he had been having a bad dream. It was a weird dream, too, although he couldn't really remember what it had been about. The elusive nature of dreams was a rather frustrating fact.

Freeing himself from the entangled fabric, he walked towards the mirror. His eyes had grown adjusted to the bright light of the morning sun. His mood had improved a lot, simply due to the many songs of the birds outside. It sounded like spring, and the garden had attracted many birds who all sang their songs. It seemed perfect, and yet…

Looking in the mirror, his hands absentmindedly touched the places where he had expected to see scars. ' _Weird. Why should I have scars? Was it that strange dream?'_ he pondered. Turning around, he went to the closet and collected his clothes. They seemed a bit big, but his vantage point had changed too. For some reason his own height confused him. ' _Why would my height confuse me?'_

Things didn't seem logical. All that confusion was eclipsed when a woman entered his bedroom.

"Naruto-kun, you should get dressed," Yamanaka Ino kissed him. No, she wasn't a Yamanaka anymore- he remembered the day she had taken his name. "Breakfast is ready, and you've gotta go to your office soon."

Stupefied, all he could do was stare at her. Her purple outfit left her midriff exposed, and seemed to be designed to accentuate her chest- an area where she had been very well developed. Motherhood had that effect on people, after all. ' _Wait, what?'_

"Don't just stand there, silly," Ino smirked. "I know I'm gorgeous, but save that for tonight," she blushed a little. "Sakura-chan agreed to have Minato-chan sleeping over. You know how well Minato-chan and Sarada-chan get along. But it leaves the whole night for the two of us… I seem to remember you talking about a second?"

"Yeah," Naruto didn't know why he had been confused. Why would the appearance of his wife confuse him? "I'm sure Minato-chan would love a little brother or sister," his smiled broadened. "I'll make sure I finish the paperwork early. Or else I simply ditch it on Baa-chan."

"Don't anger Tsunade-sama," Uzumaki Ino stood on her toes and kissed her husband. "I can't have you all injured tonight. I want my tiger to be in prime condition!"

"I wouldn't mind getting the nurse treatment again, though," Naruto thought aloud. "I'll stop teasing," he chuckled, seeing his wife being uncharacteristically bashful. Obviously she hadn't forgotten about that night either. "I'll be down in a second."

"Good, I'll get Minato-chan out of bed." Although Naruto didn't let her get out of the bedroom without first playfully slapping her well-formed rear.

' _Life is good,_ ' Naruto thought happily, finishing dressing himself. All he needed was his cloak, but that was downstairs. Along with the hat. Even after four years, he still thought of it as Tsunade's hat. He had married the girl he had grown up with, the woman he had always loved, and together they had their little loose cannon of a son. Uzumaki Minato, named after the boy's famous grandfather, had unfortunately inherited a deadly combination of the energy of his father and the inquisitiveness of his mother. Naruto was looking forward to the time his boy would pick up the noble art of pranking.

Yes, life was definitely good.

And yet there was something gnawing at him. What? He couldn't tell. Ino wondered why he was so pensive, but he couldn't explain it to her. As he walked to the Hokage's office- his office- he was greeted by countless people. Their hero, their idol, he wondered why they saw him as such. It felt so odd that there were those who practically worshipped the very ground he walked upon, yet so good to know that he was acknowledged by them all.

' _Why am I feeling so detached?'_ Naruto couldn't put his finger on it. Sakura dropped by, giving him the reports of the hospital she led. Tsunade may have founded it, but she had decided that her pupil was better of leading it. At least, that was what the Senju had claimed. Everyone who knew her a bit better knew that she had simply pawned off the responsibilities so that she could pick up her gambling addiction again.

' _Oh well, at least she stays clear of alcohol now. That one drunken debacle was bad enough. Ino-chan threatening to keep Minato-chan away from her definitely had the desired effect,'_ Naruto chuckled as he looked at the portrait of the former Godaime Hokage. Tsunade loved sake, but that affection paled in comparison to the love she felt for what was practically her grandchild. She and Jiraiya definitely were complete suckers when it came to the blond three-year-old.

Still, when his jōnin commander entered the office, Naruto was overwhelmed by a sense of wrongness. Sai gave it no thought, simply giving his report regarding this week's drills, acting as stoic as ever. While they had enjoyed peace for years now, the pale jōnin commander remained adamant that their forces had to maintain proper discipline. He had always been a bit too serious. At least, until Naruto pointed out that he still had some lipstick on his cheek- the former Root operative was easily flustered, making it so funny to tease him.

But why was it that the interaction with Sai felt wrong? Once he was alone in his office, Naruto looked down at his hand. A golden ring, practically identical in color to Ino's hair, adorned his finger.

' _Why was I expecting to see a wooden ring?'_

* * *

"Why can't I feel you?" the hunched-down form of Uzumaki Naruto, the Rokudaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato muttered to himself, referring to the tree against which he held his hand.

Nothing. He couldn't feel a thing. The complete and utter lack of any sort of sensation coming from the tree made him feel empty. While he had trouble remembering, he knew for certain that there had to be some sort of connection between himself and nature.

For weeks since he had had that odd dream, he felt… disconnected.

' _When I remembered that ring, I knew I had to feel… something. But what? Why do I keep feeling so incomplete?'_

He had woken up, got dressed, ate his breakfast, enjoyed the company of his lovely family, and then went to work. As the Hokage of Konoha, he definitely had a lot of responsibilities, yet his efforts were made fairly easy due to the peace that had been established between the nations. In the absence of wars and larger-scale conflicts, the shinobi had a rather peaceful time. Sure, there were the occasional rag-tag groups of bandits or missing nin, but it was nothing they couldn't deal with. In fact, they hadn't lost an active shinobi in over a year! After dealing with the internal politics and paperwork of the village, he'd return home, enjoy dinner, and later, after little Minato was in bed and read his nighttime story, Naruto would turn to his wife…

So what was wrong? What was gnawing at him? The world was perfect, his life was perfect, his family was perfect, so why did he feel so empty inside?

His eyes suddenly spurred wide open, and his hands went to his stomach. "He's gone?!" Naruto stammered. "H-how… no, wait, he was never there… was he?" Shouting out in frustration, he unintentionally uprooted the tree in front of which he stood. ' _Dammit, I really gotta restrain myself…'_

The world made no sense. It was as if he had woken up from a dream so deep, that it felt as if he was still numb and wondering what was real and what was not. So many questions were left unanswered; so many things which had seemed obvious in his dream now seemed…

' _What is this hole inside my head? Why does it feel like I'm lost in some kind of void?'_

The sound of footsteps drew him from his musings. He ignored it, at first, but soon found himself unable to do so. She had let her son down, and he had rushed to his father.

"What's wrong Minato-chan?" he frowned, seeing the confused expression on his son's face.

"He's the one who is worried, Naruto-kun. As am I," Ino chimed in. "You… you seem a bit out of it, today. Are you really okay?"

"I should be," Naruto answered truthfully. His son had inherited his spiky hair, although with Ino's brand of platinum blonde. Those curious, big, blue eyes seemed to stare into his soul, and… they hurt him, Naruto realized. Holding his son so close, yet doubting the reality in which he lived. It hurt. The love he felt for his family tempted him to just accept this all as real.

But he couldn't feel the energy of nature itself. Kurama wasn't here. and that ring… something was wrong with his ring. Why did he have a golden wedding ring, when it should have been a smooth, wooden engagement ring?

" _Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan."_

His eyes widened when the memory entered his mind. _'Whatever future. It will be shared with… Ajisai. Not Ino, not Minato-chan, but…'_

"I really wish I could stay, Ino-chan," Naruto tried to ignore the tears that began to run down his cheeks.

"N-Naruto-kun, what are you saying?" Ino stammered. "You're not… why would you leave us? Y-You can't!"

"There are no lights to guide me home, but still… I need to free myself," Naruto kissed his son, who was affected by his parents' emotions- even if the little boy didn't understand what his parents were talking about.

"I won't let you-" Ino began.

"Ino-chan," Naruto looked away. "I wish I didn't need to. This world is perfect. Minato-chan is perfect. You… you are as perfect as I always imagined you to be. My family, my beloved… I wish I could stay forever. This is all I wished for, before I…"

"Then stay!"

"But Ino-chan, they all depend on me."

"Who? No, it doesn't matter," Ino shook her head. " _We_ depend on you, Naruto-kun. I depend on you!"

"I know," Naruto hesitated. "I know you do… for you are not real. None of you are."

"W-what are you saying?" Ino now cried openly. "Please… p-please stop it… you're breaking my heart!"

"You are the world that could have been, had Zetsu not interfered with my life. This is a world where none of my friends have perished. This is a world where I didn't have to struggle with the burden that Kurama once posed," Naruto let down Minato, as the little boy wanted to go to his mommy. "You are the dream I had when I was a boy: the perfect world."

Naruto sighed, and turned his gaze to the village.

"But Kurama was there. Zetsu was there. Kakuzu was there. I lost my memories, committed horrendous acts on behalf of Akatsuki, and I met someone… my light in the darkness, the one who saved me from myself. Ajisai never really knew how important she was to me. How important she still is," Naruto smiled wistfully. "I loved you Ino, I really did. You were the love of my life- my old life. But things changed. I changed. You accepted that…"

He looked at his hand.

"I can still feel my ring, my true ring- the ring that I made when Ajisai and I became a couple, when I claimed her hand for marriage. No matter how perfect this illusion is, no matter how much I wish I could stay for a little longer, I still feel that other ring on my finger. No genjutsu in the world can rob me of that feeling."

"…" Ino said something, but he couldn't hear her anymore. He couldn't hear his son's cries, even though he saw the tears running down his chubby cheeks. It was as if the whole world was silenced. The wind through the trees, the bird chirping, the water flowing through the nearby canal, all those sounds had vanished.

"I will never again lose myself," Naruto vowed. "You will never separate us again."

The deafening silence was broken by the sound of breaking glass, as this false reality collapsed.

It was the last he saw of his life-that-could-have-been. It was the last time he saw Ino as his wife, and Minato as his son. This was what could have been, had Zetsu not torn his life asunder. That dream had been destroyed. Letting go of it was something he had done before he had confronted Pein, before Zetsu once more had tried to ruin his life. This life was something he had once desired, but he had changed, his heart had changed. So now, that dream of the past was shattered once more.

He already had a new dream. " _Whatever future I have, it will be shared with you, Aji-chan."_

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Illusions are cruel…

Yes, I decided to make Kaguya more intelligent. Why? Well, for simple reason that I found it unbecoming of the final villain of the manga to act like she was Zetsu's puppet. Not to mention that it simply didn't fit with her premise of seeing herself as a godlike world-destroying overlord (overlady?). She may be _somber_ all she wants, but I'd still rather see her as someone who is cunning enough to create her own schemes. To tell the truth, the manga left me with the feeling that she was mentally challenged, rather than an actual threat…

For those who bother about the specifics: I only intended the Jūbi-Naruto of this chapter to have the powers of the 'Six Paths Sage Mode', so he isn't exactly like Obito or Madara when they were Jūbi-jinchūriki. The reason for the closed eyes is obvious, I suppose. Anyway, I intended for him to have the Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Ball) and Shin: Jukai Kōtan (God: Nativity of a World of Trees). The latter being an 'upgrade' for Naruto's regular mokuton, considering his connection to the newly grown Shinju. The Gudōdama were linked to Six Path Senjutsu, thus it made sense to me that Jūbi-Naruto got them. And why just two orbs? Well, the answer is simple: before Obito managed to gain control of the Jūbi's power he also only had two Gudōdama.

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	26. Judgment

**Asunder**

 **Chapter Twenty Six**

 **Judgment**

* * *

" _Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing."_

― John Stuart Mill

* * *

Defeat was no option, but the vexing fact remained that victory just seemed to be impossible. The grey-white colored 'Naruto'- she could see it wasn't Naruto himself who was in control- was too fast and too strong for her to have any hope of victory. There was only one real reason why she was still alive, and that was because this Jūbi-addled Naruto was exceedingly stupid.

' _No, stupid isn't the right word. It is more as if he is acting on instinct, like an animal,'_ Ajisai corrected herself. While she was hardly talented in the area of taijutsu herself, even Ajisai had little difficulty to discern that 'Naruto' lacked any form or stance in his combat style. It made him unpredictable, yes, but also very sloppy, leaving plenty of opportunities for her to exploit. Not that it did much more than even the odds a little.

"Shinra Tensei!" she counterattacked, just in time.

With him moving at speeds where her rinnegan could barely keep up, it was only at the last second that she managed to divert his punch. There was no time to distract herself with analyzing the situation, if a fatal attack could be expected every possible second.

His lack of form or style gave her bit of reprieve, but that would have meant little if he had continued to attack her at full force. Yet, for some reason beyond her understanding, he didn't seem to be able to fully use those black orbs, although she wondered how they had been able to dispel each of her summons- even the multi-headed dog, that was supposed to keep splitting in two each time one was damaged significantly enough. In addition, nearly none of her jutsu worked against the orbs, the sole exception being the chakra absorption by Preta Path.

However, if she switched to Preta Path and he decided to attack with taijutsu, she'd be left wide open. It only took a fraction of a second to switch to the abilities of Deva Path, but that was time she couldn't spare in this situation. So yes, she counted herself lucky that 'Naruto' was so mindless.

She didn't want to think about what would happen if he became intelligent, though. Deep down, she knew very well that she'd be a dead woman that same moment.

'Naruto' roared out in frustration, before crashing down to the ground after he tried to get to his feet again. Once more he tried to get up, but Ajisai could see that something was going horribly wrong. The amounts of chakra that accumulated in his legs was massive, which led to his midsection bloating up like a balloon.

"W-what?"

"…?" Surprisingly, the mindless form of the Jūbi-possessed Naruto didn't seem to have any clue about what happened to him either.

Not willing to waste the chance given to her, Ajisai leapt back. Finally, she had some time to catch her breath. Only now did she realize how far they had strayed from where the Jūbi had spawned that gigantic tree. Only now did she see how little was left of the entire area where once a village had been hidden. The very surface of this country had been altered by the events that had transpired here.

Without any word or sign of warning, the upper half of Naruto's body suddenly extended. Like some kind of twisted from of snake, a scenario pulled right out of nightmares. Or, one that would induce nightmares.

"Gah!" she dodged. "Thank the heavens that he's slowed down by the bulk of his body," she muttered to no one in particular.

"Fu…ture…" 'Naruto' suddenly mumbled, almost causing Ajisai, in her surprise, to be caught off guard by the swipe of his claw-like hand. She still managed to evade, leaving him wide open for a counterattack.

"Rasengan!" the attack bounced off his skin like usual, destroying her hopes that perhaps his 'bloated' form had weakened him.

In fact, 'Naruto' could just as well have been stung by a mosquito, as he didn't notice the attack at all- even though Ajisai knew all too well that her rasengan could easily pierce boulders.

His lips kept moving, as he turned to her again. Vaguely, she heard him say "Sha…re…", although she had to hurry to create distance again.

' _Just in time,_ ' she sighed. "Shinra Tensei!"

The attack, the only one in her repertoire that had some effect on him, forced him back. At least, the snake-like, extended upper half of his body. The bloated midsection and legs remained unmoved. The chakra inside him kept struggling, though more and more of Naruto's chakra started seeping through. The battle for dominance that Ajisai had thought that he had lost, didn't seem to have ended just yet.

"Fu…ture… A… ji… chan…"

* * *

The shards of the illusionary world fell, leaving him once again stranded in the familiar darkness.

For a moment, for only the tiniest and shortest of moments, the return to the dark and illusion-less realm was a relief. The sight of his son, illusion or not, was still burned into his mind's eye. Such a pure and innocent child… it was hard to fathom that someone with as much blood at his hands as he could potentially give life to such an innocent and cheerful child.

Alas, that momentary bitter-tasting sense of relief was immediately eradicated by an overwhelming amount of pain. His arms were only barely attached, only a few strands of white… white stuff. His torso was mostly torn apart too, only a few of those white wire-like things that still kept his upper torso connected to his hips.

He screamed. It was maddening. As if the mental pain of what he had just seen hadn't been enough, especially following the way he knew he had been defeated by Zetsu, he now felt as if his very soul was torn apart. Scratch that, it didn't just 'feel like' it happened… it actually was what was going on. Only a very remote part of his brains registered that piece of information. The vast majority of his attention was consumed by the pain and the desperation that it brought along.

The light was dying now. His sight faded when he felt his face crack. The tears that had spread through his body now reached up there too. He had lost. The Jūbi would break into the seal and consume Kurama, and then the world would depend on what little mercy that monster was capable of feeling. He had failed them all.

No amount of pain inflicted by his torn soul could match the sorrow and regret he felt due to that failure. He had failed everyone: Tsunade, who had nearly destroyed herself in her grief, would perish due to his weakness; Ino, even if he had given up the idea of chasing her romantically, was still too important a friend to lose to his foolish mistake; Kurama would suffer a fate worse than death, only because he had failed to see through Zetsu's schemes; and Ajisai…

As his head started to split in two, stifling his cries of pain, he still felt the tears running down his cheeks. Ajisai. She had been through so much. She had died, literally, and her corpse had been desecrated for Nagato's deranged plans. She had come back to life, and trained harder than anyone could have expected her, grown stronger than she could have ever dreamt of becoming, because of him. He could not allow his beloved to die. His current state brought hellish pain, but that sensation paled in comparison to the idea of losing her. He had failed Guren, grown apart from Ino, and sacrificed the innocent Fū for a pointless cause, but the thought of losing Ajisai once more… No.

All he could see was the image of Ajisai, sitting on the edge of their tree house, beaming with a content smile as if she was the happiest person alive. It was a smile he'd give everything for, a smile for which he'd sacrifice himself, in order to protect it. For she had been the one who truly brought him back to life, she had been the one who rescued him from a state worse than death: being an aimless and emotionless tool to Zetsu and Kakuzu. The Jūbi no doubt wanted to turn him into such a tool once again. He would not allow himself to be reduced to that horrid empty state of existence.

NO.

He had had enough of the schemes, the backstabbing, the hidden enemies that preyed on the power he held within him, and those who wished to obtain Kurama for their own ends. This was the end. No more.

"NO!"

He roared, with all his might, until he could see nothing but a blinding amount of chakra. Everything he had, everything he could get from the vast sea of energy that nature offered, he used to overthrow the power that was invading him.

* * *

"Outrageous."

It was the one and only word that existed for such blasphemous audacity. She had traveled, further than any of these little upstarts could imagine, to get to this place, only to have her efforts thwarted time and time again by this greedy and violent species. _Humans_. In hindsight, she wondered how she had ever considered mating with one of them.

"My naivety was staggering," she quietly accepted. She had just been liberated from a thousand years of solitude, and she still voiced her thoughts aloud. Adjusting to an environment where she wasn't completely alone would take some time. "But all these setbacks will soon be undone."

Her infant child had worked tirelessly for nearly a thousand years to undo the damage that its elder brothers had inflicted upon her. With her power scattered, her body sealed, and her essence locked away in a different dimension… the child had done good work to get her this far. It was regrettable that it had died in the process, laying down its life just before its plans came to fruition.

Did she really care, though? No. That mongrel was something she had created in the tiny window of opportunity she had been given, shortly after she began to realize that her traitorous sons had found a way to defeat her. Demi-gods they might have been due to her blood, but still… the notion that she had suffered defeat seemed ludicrous to her. The creation of her Zetsu army had left her weakened, as the power of the Shinju had been exhausted in the process. The two had exploited that moment, fought valiantly, and eventually gotten the upper hand. Then, she was condemned to a fate worse than death, by her _beloved_ children…

"It must have been their human blood which led to their repulsive behavior. This is clear, as my third child behaved itself far better, although it had only a sliver of my might."

Now she stood in this sewer-like hallway. The damp and dirty environment was below her standard, to the point where her mere presence here felt like an insult. Yet, it had to be done. The last of nine fragments of her power rested behind this place. It irritated her how slowly she could seep its power from the self-aware fragment. The Kyūbi, a mere beast, given shape by her son, dared to slow her down to this extent… no, that wasn't entirely true.

The knowledge that she had inherited from her youngest child, the mongrel that had been the herald of her return, showed her how inadequate she was at the art of sealing. The 'ninjutsu' that the violent human species had created was easily countered, but fūinjutsu was something different, especially the otherworldly power she felt emanating from the seal that contained the Kyūbi. Not even she, a matriarch of the Ōtsutsuki clan, would dare to underestimate the God of Death. While time held less of a claim on her kind than it did on the human race, she too was ultimately a mortal being. Although, after she had united her power with that of the Shinju, she was fairly sure she now stood outside the reason of time.

Still, she had lost many centuries due to the insolence of her sons. It left her impatient.

Annoyed as she was, she almost missed the sudden shift in the atmosphere. "How can a single human be so tenacious?" she asked herself, slightly impressed that the child had managed to break free from the various restraints she had placed on him. "For a simple human, it should have been impossible. Unless… his will is even stronger than my child thought. The potential of his genes seems to be greater than Tenji's was," she idly remarked. "Alas, he'll still have to perish."

She abandoned the door which led to Kurama's jail, although from his perspective, words such as 'bunker' or 'fortress' would be more appropriate for the seal right now. Had it not been for the seal, Kaguya would have completely absorbed Kurama already.

Down through the damp sewer-like hallway the pale beauty walked, until she reached the door to the hall from where the boy's energy emanated. It was peculiar how a mere human had such a complex mindscape, a subject she intended to look into at a later time. "I will have to explore it, because each of the fragments still holds their annoying personalities hidden, deep down. I suppose I will have to break them, one by one, until they are truly dissolved into the combined power of me and the Shinju."

The fact that there were minor changes in the boy's mindscape as his mood changed didn't elude her. It had been rather dark, only minutes ago, as if his consciousness had been on the verge of collapsing. In fact, it should have collapsed already. None had ever escaped the illusion of the perfect world. The dream which is rooted deepest within one's soul was something no living soul had ever wanted to escape from seeing fulfilled, in Kaguya's experience.

"Still… his soul is strange. Twisted," Kaguya mused. "The mental damage I saw was extensive. Perhaps… perhaps he did not truly become whole, despite having regained his old memories? I wonder how my Tsukuyomi would affect someone who holds two dreams in their heart. The illusion should have been perfect."

She moved into the room, where the gentle glow had been replaced by a cold and clear light. The tropical forest which had once stood within this hall had apparently perished. It amused her. "Your power is abandoning you, child," she stated loudly. Kaguya knew he was out there, somewhere, although she had yet had to see her opponent. "You were in luck that I underestimated the consequences of your broken existence. Still… it is all futile. Why don't you yield, and end your torment? We may be adversaries, but I do admire the strength of your heart."

"Why don't you fuck off," she heard him utter in a low growl, after a few moments of silence.

"You are merely human," she chuckled. "An insect cannot hope to overcome a goddess."

"You're no god of mine," Naruto bit back. "You, Zetsu, Pein… I've had enough of you delusional nutcases. You think yourself higher than anyone, yet all that you and your haughty ilk bring to the world is ruination."

The chuckle died in her throat. The audacity of this human! Kaguya's eyes narrowed- all three of them- when Uzumaki Naruto stepped out of the lifeless forest that had previously obscured him from her vision. Had she not been enraged, Kaguya might have considered why she hadn't been able to see him sooner- she had her byakugan activated, after all- but alas.

Extending her arm, she shot out a bone. He'd be turned to dust for his words.

"Hmm, unexpected," she mumbled to herself, seeing how Naruto raised a wall of wood without any sort of movement from his arms. Considering how she knew- through the knowledge distilled from the dark Zetsu- that shinobi needed to channel their chakra and guide it through gestures with their hands. Hand seals, they called it. How primitive they still were…

"You think I'd just stand still and let you kill me? You must be even a greater idiot than I thought," Naruto taunted her. Quite successfully as well, as her hair shot up and strangled him. "You know… there were a lot of reasons why I despised Kakuzu, but even after I've slain him I still have the feeling that I should have thanked him."

"…?" Kaguya cocked her head sideways, wondering what the human was rambling about. Was it asphyxiation that addled his thoughts?

"A shinobi should never lose control of his emotions, or his enemy may exploit them as a weakness," Naruto gave her a shit-eating grin, before flipping her off. The action made Kaguya tighten the leash, until her snappe and broke into… pieces of wood?

"Shin-rin," Naruto hissed, from somewhere behind her. Kaguya saw pale-white branches shoot up around her, thick thorns growing from them. Each of the thorns was dripping with venom that seemed intent on only one thing: her death.

Without a word, she pushed the branches aside, with nothing more than the power of her third eye. Manipulating the gravitational field worked, even within his mindscape. To rid herself of her stubborn enemy, she launched a barrage of hair-needles.

This time, she saw she had hit her mark.

"Is this supposed to be the power of a goddess?" Naruto wondered aloud. His flak jacket was torn to shreds, and he tore its remnants off himself. The long-sleeved shirt underneath was, obviously, in no better condition, and joined the flak jacket on the ground. "Or is this why you needed those cowardly illusions?"

"You truly seem to be enraged by what you saw," Kaguya was mildly curious as to why. It was supposed to show a world in which all his dreams were granted. Nothing about that should elicit such a response, should it?

"You made me denounce a family I could have had. You made me leave a child that could have been real. That felt real. He… You toyed with my heart and my soul," Naruto growled. "You and Zetsu have treated me as some kind of convenient tool, one that was yours to use and throw away. But guess what, you bitch… this tool will bring about your end!"

"Only a fool would grow too attached to her children," Kaguya smiled wistfully.

"Only a fool would say such a thing," he bit back in barely contained rage.

She watched her opponent carefully. His power seemed to keep increasing without end. Red pigmentation surrounded his eyes, and a dot-within-a-circle was seen on his forehead. But, now that his torso was bare, Kaguya could also see three similar dots on his chest, in front of his spinal cord. These last three were connected to an intricate pattern of crimson lines that covered his entire upper body.

"Such big words about emotions…"

"They can be a weakness, yes, but also a strength. Emotions can make a person fight harder and endure more pain than should be possible. But it could also lead to defeat. Your arrogance, for instance, gave me the chance to gather enough natural energy to completely fill out my reserves."

"It matters little, hu-"

Before she could finish her line she saw how he threw a few chakra-laden red peppers at her. The flying objects changed into small clouds of biting red dust. Caught completely off guard, as she had expected him to launch some kind of big attack after all the chakra he had amassed, Kaguya dumbly looked at the small clouds.

Until the dust reached her eyes, that was.

Regardless of the difference in power, even she, a self-proclaimed goddess, was not able to stop herself from blinking. The burning sensation disrupted her sight, the irritation forcing her to rub her eyes and clean them of the offending matter.

* * *

Time was not at his side. He knew that, yet at the same time he was acutely aware that he shouldn't rush himself. While he could feel how Kurama was weakening at a steady rate, the enemy that had just entered the forest-hall within Naruto's mindscape was far too powerful to act hastily against. One slip, and all would be lost.

The woman was pale and had pure white hair. In a sense, she was quite beautiful, Naruto had to reluctantly admit, as she seemed to shine- as if the moonlight was trying to make her delicate facial features even more visible. Yet, in all her cold beauty, Naruto couldn't escape the thought that she seemed incredibly arrogant. The distant and detached expression shifted to mild annoyance once in a while, but generally just seemed dead-set on looking down on all living things around her. Aside from her haughty demeanor, Naruto thought that the freaky third eye and the horns were detracting from her beauty as well.

Beyond appearances, this woman made him cautious for the simple reason that she was strong- overwhelmingly strong, in fact. It was what had left him surprised to the extent that he, even in his rage, had stopped and kept himself hidden, when she entered the hall. From the power he had sensed, he had anticipated her to be some kind of monstrous creature. To see this deceptively normal woman being the manifestation of the Jūbi's power was… confusing.

This state of confusion was short-lived, though, as Naruto still had the vibrant memory of his son in his mind: little Minato-chan held within Ino's arms, looking at him, pleading with him to stay. That bitter memory filled the jinchūriki with rage, the idea that someone had played with his heart in such a cruel way was unforgivable.

Still, he had to thread with caution. Carefully stalling her, throwing her off balance with deliberate taunts, while gathering more and more natural energy. In this realm it seemed as if there was no limit to the amount he could gather. There was no corporeal body that had to sustain the immense strain of this energy, only his soul.

' _Or is it because the Jūbi is sealed within me that I can gather so much more energy?'_ he wondered. He couldn't tell. He knew, however, that it would take time to gather the energy he needed, so he kept stalling her.

"Such big words about emotions…" she seemed amused, clearly seeing how he tried to rein in his temper.

"They can be a weakness, yes, but also a strength," Naruto glared back. "Emotions can make a person fight harder and endure more pain than should be possible. But it could also lead to defeat. Your arrogance, for instance, gave me the chance to gather enough natural energy to completely fill out my reserves."

"It matters little, hu-"

"Akai Chishio no Habanero (Red-Hot Habanero)" he whispered the moment she spoke up. The resulting cloud of pepper-dust blinded her. It offered the perfect window of opportunity for him, so that he could put all his weight on offense without having to worry about defense.

"Shinra Banshō! (All-Covering Forests and Ten Thousand Things)" He couldn't tell if she had noticed how he had infested the entire place with fungi, but he did know that it was too late for her. Whether she was stronger or not mattered little at this point. The deadly cloud of chakra-laden corrosive spores already enveloped Kaguya.

"DIE!" Naruto snarled, forcing the majority of his chakra into the cloud, releasing all his pent-up hatred.

The forest of pale and lifeless thorned trees decayed until only dust remained. The cloud of corrosive fungi swallowed up everything, turning and swirling around Kaguya. Beads of sweat ran down Naruto's head, but he was too focused to notice them. All that mattered now was her destruction. This woman, this manifestation of the Jūbi, she needed to die. She needed to get out of his mind.

"My, my, such ferocity," Naruto paled when he heard the amused voice from the center of the fungi cloud. "Yasogami Kūgeki (Eighty Gods Vacuum Fists)," she laughed hollowly.

The cloud of spores burst apart as a multitude of giant fist-shaped chakra manifestations rushed at him. Before he had the chance to even consider his options, the attack struck.

"And again you stand up… if you keep this up, I might truly be impressed," the white woman said with a maddening mirth in her voice. "Can you not sense the difference between you and me?

"You are powerful. Overwhelmingly so. But regardless of the extent of your power, it is finite," Naruto stated calmly, ignoring his aching body. "You might exceed me in ability, but that matters relatively little in this place. You arrogantly waltzed in here, not knowing that this is the exact spot where I connect to nature."

"Nature," Kaguya scoffed. "Plants and animals should grovel at my feet, yet you speak of it as if it is more powerful than-"

"There is no limit to the energy of nature, not that I can sense at least." Naruto interrupted. "That is why I have been able to endure each of your attacks. And being in this place, I could increase my sage mode far beyond my usual limits."

"Yet I still say that this petty power-up is pointless. Against the might of an Ōtsutsuki, it matters little how much raw power you might gather, child." The woman chuckled when she saw the slight look of confusion in his eyes. "You must wonder how I survived that earlier attack of yours."

"…"

"I possess the ability to absorb chakra, rendering every attack of yours pointless. Now, why don't you give up? There is no shame in admitting defeat, not when facing the strongest being that ever resided on this pathetic planet."

"You speak as if you are not from this planet…"

"Correct. My name is Kaguya from the Ōtsutsuki clan. My clan is not from this planet. Is that so hard to comprehend?" Kaguya smirked. "My sons tricked me and sealed me away, and scattered my power over your pathetic kind, but my youngest child set everything up for my inevitable return."

"So chakra… it is derived from you?" Naruto's eyes widened. "The bijū are-"

"Nine parts of the combined chakra of me and the Shinju," Kaguya nodded- set on completely demoralizing the young man who had persisted and resisted far beyond anything she had ever seen before. She wanted- needed- to break his will. "Of course, my wayward son decided to split that vast quantity of chakra up over even more targets. Where did you think all those bloodlines started, boy? You humans never had such power before it was stolen from me. So… do you honestly think you could ever hope to defeat me when your sole weapon is a power that belongs to me?"

"Giving up isn't exactly my forte," Naruto growled lowly.

"Perhaps I should explain to you what the true history of this world is," she smirked back at the agitated Uzumaki. "Do you even know that the Shinju and I are not one and the same?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Naruto eventually asked- the reluctance in his voice making Kaguya smirk even wider.

"My clan, the Ōtsutsuki clan, planted the Shinju on this planet. Its sole purpose, contrary to popular belief, is merely the gathering of energy. Me and my kin use its fruit as nourishment. Fruit for the gods should grow on the God Tree, don't you agree?" she chuckled at her own 'joke'. "Naturally, the Shinju derives its energy at the cost of the planet and its inhabitants, but its effects are barely noticeable. It takes a full millennium to grow one fruit, so the drain hardly affects the living beings on a planet."

"So you came here to eat the fruit of the Shinju," Naruto deduced. "Then why did you unleash the Jūbi upon the world? Kurama told me about the damage it did, about how mankind had been on the edge of extinction."

"But of course I did that. As I journeyed, I saw what mankind did to itself and to the planet. What could I do, but draw the right conclusion?" Kaguya frowned lightly, as if Naruto had made a stupid remark. "I saw how humans pillaged the villages and cities of their enemies, how they enslaved, raped, and annihilated entire populations. I saw them drench entire battlefields with blood… and why? For imaginary gods, for valuables, for power, for… their greed was their undoing. There were entire societies built on inequality between social positions- where slaves and nobles continued an endless cycle of revolution and repression. Tell me, child, don't you agree that the world would be better off without your despicable species?"

"I… no, but-"

"So, even its last defender hesitates to call humanity 'good'," the woman laughed cruelly. "Priceless! Even my own sons, my flesh and blood, were blind to that truth. They refused to accept their divine heritage, opting to see themselves as humans instead. They thought I had succumbed to madness, and fought against me with all their might… and yet here you are. You don't have a drop of Ōtsutsuki blood within your veins, yet you see the truth they were blind to. Alas, if only I hadn't needed your body…"

"Or?"

"I'd have made you my servant, boy," Kaguya smiled at him. It was probably meant seductively, but by now, Naruto couldn't feel any sense of physical attraction to this woman. "Even a goddess is not without desires of the flesh. But that matters little. My sons have shown me that half-breeds are unstable. Why else would they have maintained that the Shinju's fruit had corrupted their mother? Their human blood made them violent and treasonous, and it clearly addled their mental capacities as well."

"Mankind isn't all bad, you know."

"Oh? Why would you think that they are not undeserving of life?"

"Mankind has its excesses in violence and cruelty, yes," Naruto admitted. "But to balance out our bad qualities, we also have the capacity to do good. We create, care, love, and believe- with proper guidance, we are capable of overcoming our shortcomings," Naruto silently thanked Kurama for the long conversations they had shared.

"Tsk, _idealism_ ," Kaguya uttered the word as if it was a curse. "Hopes and dreams change nothing, child. How disappointing that you'd-"

"Humanity will never be without conflicts. But that is how nature works. Trees grow tall, yet in doing so they put smaller plants in the shadow, their roots dig deeper and drink the water before the weaker plants can reach it. Nature itself is designed to rest on a foundation of competition. Without competition, in the complete absence of conflict, nothing would perish and nothing would grow or be born. The world would be stale, until it would finally begin to rot and wither away. Without change, how would we improve? Without making mistakes, how would we learn? You said yourself to be a goddess, so answer me that."

"It is barely an excuse for all the horrible acts I've seen mankind commit."

"I agree. Humanity must grow past this violence. It must be forced to see reason, and to abandon the never-ending spiral of hatred. In our desire to avenge the wrong-doings committed to us, we constantly create more strife. But if that cycle was broken, if our kind would see the errors of our ways, we would have a chance to evolve," Naruto reasoned. "I've met a man who fancied himself a god, and he lectured that pain would force people to grow. He was only partly right. Pain _does_ teach us valuable lessons. But without love, pain would be meaningless. We can't close ourselves off from the world because we suffer, as it would make us cruel and violent. But we can't completely open ourselves up either. Blind trust is too easily exploited, and a naïve faith in the good of people would only prolong the cycle of conflict, as no problem would ever truly be dealt with."

"As eloquent as you may speak, you barely present an answer," Kaguya frowned.

"Balance, is my answer," Naruto inclined his head slowly. "Mankind is out of balance, has lost its connection to nature, and as such they can be more cruel and violent than any animal. The majority is simply blind, never realizing the truth about the world in which they live. They never see what nature truly entails, and are not constrained by those who do."

"Again about nature?" the woman shook her head, disappointed. "You wield so much power for a human, yet you still mean to say that you don't accept that you are superior to the rest? By right of power, you should have ruled this world, forced everything into peace."

"What am I but yet another little part of this world?" Naruto asked rhetorically. "I would not have been able to wield the power I possess if I had not accepted how limited I truly am. My power, my understanding, my heart… I am imperfect."

"Perfection is impossible for a mere human."

"Do you fancy yourself perfect, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?" Naruto chuckled. "Because you are not. You do not comprehend nature, and just as many of my kind, you make the mistake of seeing yourself as superior to the world around you. You think you are somehow elevated above it all, separated, even though in truth you are just as much a part of the system as any other. You asked me why I persisted for so long… it is because, even if my power is greatly inferior to yours, I accepted that I am part of something far greater than myself. And _that_ is what I want to show mankind: a lesson in humility and understanding, that we are not better than the world around us. It is also why I managed to withstand you for so long… and why I will win."

"You honestly believe that you can still be victorious?" Kaguya was knocked slightly off balance because of that statement. "I told you: your power cannot best mine. Even if you amass enough raw chakra to compete with me, it is still merely power that was stolen from me."

"Every jutsu requires chakra, yes," Naruto nodded. "But chakra differs in structure and density. Some of my jutsu require the chakra that I naturally possess, while some need to be purely fueled with the chakra that Kurama gave me- such as the Shinra Banshō jutsu."

Kaguya laughed at this. Naruto tried to remain calm and composed, even though his seething temper desperately wished to lash out against the woman. But he knew he'd have to be patient. ' _My chakra is ineffective. What little I still have of Kurama's chakra is also ineffective, as she just showed me. So… there's only one gamble left. And if what she just told me is true… but I need more. If I try to solely do that jutsu with that, I need more. I can't rely on Kurama's chakra this time.'_

"You were so interesting," Kaguya finally uttered, having stopped herself from laughing at the jinchūriki. "But it turns out that you have no answers and no power. You follow a philosophy belonging to the weak; even if you are far above all other humans… you have disappointed me, Uzumaki Naruto. I even decided to be merciful and not end this fight the instant I entered this hall, as I thought that your stubbornness entertained me while I drained the beast of its remaining power."

"What's wrong, can't find the words to refute my point of view?" Naruto tried to stall her for a little longer. "Can't handle the fact that there are no easy answers, and that solutions involve more than just forcing it with your power?"

"A proper discussion would presume that we are equal, at some level. We are not," Kaguya smirked. "Your life already belongs to me. I thought it would be entertaining to break you, but it turned out to be boring."

Suddenly Naruto felt as if he was tied down by invisible and unbreakable ropes. ' _Kanashibari no Jutsu (Temporary Paralysis Technique)?'_ he wondered. A powerful pulse of senjutsu chakra broke the jutsu, just in time to evade a spike of bone which Kaguya had just fired at him. Naruto gulped when he saw how the bone disintegrated the tree in which it landed. ' _She really stopped beating around the bush… damn.'_

"You broke free?" she seemed mildly surprised. "Very well," she dismissed what had occurred and summoned ten black orbs of chakra. "There will be no more evasion, boy."

"You seem in a hurry, all of a sudden."

"I have wasted enough of my time toying with you. It is time to retrieve my chakra. I might not be able to use Mugen Tsukuyomi, as I already ensnared everyone with the Shinju, but that is of no consequence now," her previous smirk now settled for a more neutral expression. A cold and indifference expression, to be precise. "I had intended to replace mankind with a more useful species, but after all that has happened it would be more fitting if I just wiped out everything. This miserable world needs to pay the price for what was done to me!"

' _She'll murder everyone if I don't act quickly,_ ' Naruto grimaced. ' _Dammit. If she used the power of the Shinju to trap everyone, and has the ability to drain chakra… it would only be a matter of time until every living thing in the world will die of chakra exhaustion. Hopefully I have gathered enough chakra now.'_

The ten black orbs which Kaguya had created flew with break-neck speeds at Naruto. She didn't even bother to attack him from various angles, believing he would not be able to evade an attack this fast. And if he were foolish enough to try to block… well, there was nothing a Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Ball) could not pierce.

Or so she thought.

"Senpō Mokuton: Kan'on Ryote (Sage Art Wood Release: Kanon's hands)," Naruto muttered in relief, seeing that he had literally dodged the bullet. If he had been a fraction of a second later…

"Impossible," Kaguya glared- with all three of her eyes- at Naruto. "Those orbs cannot be blocked."

"You revealed your own weakness, blabbering like an idiot," the Uzumaki chuckled. "You wanted to end this… let me show you the complete version of this jutsu! Senpō Mokuton: Shin Jūichimen Kan'on (Sage Art Wood Release: the True Eleven-Headed Kan'on)," he shouted.

The massive wooden hands which he had previously spawned now grew arms. The hands took hold of the ground, and from the very soil under Naruto's feet an enormous wooden Buddha rose up. Now was the time to see if his gambit would pay off.

' _If all chakra originates from her, why does she not understand the power of natural energy? It would mean that she does not comprehend senjutsu,'_ had been his train of thought. ' _And if she does not understand senjutsu, a jutsu purely fueled by natural energy might stand a chance, right? Aside from that, I still have no idea why I knew how to exactly create the Jūichimen Kan'on, or how I was able to use it with such specific abilities. So… where do the senpō jutsu come from, if not from her? And if it is not from her, might she be vulnerable against it?'_

It was a shaky line of reasoning, but it was the last line of defense he could depend on. The palm of the left hand that brought death, while the palm of the right hand that negated all jutsu; the Jūichimen Kan'on had powers, which Naruto still hadn't completely figured out how and why it had gotten it. The notes made by Uchiha Madara regarding Hashirama's 'ultimate jutsu' had been quite different.

The giant wooden Buddha statue sat in lotus position, seemingly perfectly at peace, but lashed out at Kaguya when Naruto directed it. As if swatting a fly, the two massive hands descended upon the Ōtsutsuki, the two palms aiming to crush her in-between.

"…what?" Naruto blinked. He looked again, but no, she wasn't there. ' _Behind_ ,' he grunted.

Kaguya launched a barrage of bones at the wooden giant, but was caught off guard when the two hands of the Kan'on burst from the ground and captured her.

"I got her," Naruto gasped. "She didn't… wait… what the…"

The dozens of bones which Kaguya had shot out earlier had landed all over the torso of the Jūichimen Kan'on. Due to the sheer size of the animated statue, it took some time until the effects of the corrosive bone became visible.

With his eyes wide open, Uzumaki Naruto could only watch in horror as his last hope literally began to crumble away from underneath his feet.

"That… was unexpected," a blood-covered Kaguya mumbled. The shoulders of the Kan'on had rotted away, and its mighty arms fell with a thundering clap onto the ground. It revealed that the Ōtsutsuki was harmed, with multiple cuts and her right arm dangling at an odd angle, but still very much alive.

For a moment the self-proclaimed goddess needed to focus on her own body, healing the damage that Naruto had inflicted. She idly wondered what could have happened to her if not for her All-Killing Ash Bones. Never would she have expected a mere human to be able to harm her. Her sons had been of her divine blood, thus it was to be expected that they had been able to seal her. But even they had only managed to inflict bodily harm when they used the Gudōdama.

"That was a dangerous little trick, boy," all of Kaguya's three eyes were now directed at Naruto. The extent of her displeasure was painfully obvious. Not even a hint of amusement at Naruto's panicked expression could be seen or heard. The prey that she had been toying with all this time had just managed to harm her. Her earlier annoyance turned into a murderous determination.

"Not dangerous enough," Naruto spat, embittered by the loss of the Kan'on.

In an instant, the woman lunged forwards and planted a fist in his stomach. With no laughter, no taunts, but rather in complete silence, she walked towards his slumped down form. In the background, Naruto heard another part of the now immobilized Kan'on fall down, as the bones continued to turn the giant mass of wood into ash. Still, at this rate, it would take another few minutes before the giant would be completely scattered in the winds.

"To think that I had to resort to the Tomogoroshi no Haikotsu (All-Killing Ash Bones), and still had to depend on luck for my survival… ludicrous," Kaguya shook her head, now standing in front of Naruto.

"Not so divine after all?" Naruto smirked weakly. No matter the odds, he didn't lose his defiant streak.

"It changes nothing about the outcome. You are spent."

"Yeah, but if I die now, my inner world would collapse," Naruto, out of nowhere, drew a wooden kunai.

"An inner world requires but one ego to sustain it," Kaguya swatted away the kunai before he could plunge it in his own throat. "All the power you possess, as well as your body, will belong to me. But that does not imply that I will let you kill yourself, child. You have annoyed me, so I will personally end your existence. But before you die, you should know that I am going to pluck the rinnegan from the corpse of that little girlfriend of yours; I am done with you."

As she uttered that last threat, with more venom than Naruto had ever heard her speak, she drew one of her bones out of her own arm. So she wished to turn him to ashes… not a pleasant prospect.

"Die," she hissed in his ear, driving the bone, as a thrusting weapon, right into his chest. The corners of her mouth tugged up slightly when she heard him groan out in pain, and she cruelly drove the bone even deeper.

"I thought… I told you… I don't…" he glared up, ignoring the excruciating feeling of his chest slowly being turned to ash. "I don't give… up… easily…"

Much to her surprise, he suddenly grabbed her by her wrists. As his sage mode had yet to run out, his physical power was still far beyond any other mortal man she had ever faced before. He had survived the impact of her Yasogami Kūgeki (Eighty Gods Vacuum Fists), what had already proven his strength to her. But why would he smirk with such defiance in his expression, when his body had already started to disintegrate? She didn't know.

Not until she heard a voice behind her, rising up from the rotting remains of the Jūichimen Kan'on.

"Senpō Mokuton: Kan'on Ryote (Sage Art Wood Release: Kanon's hands)!"

Unlike the statue itself, which was slow and cumbersome in spite of its overwhelming power, if Naruto merely created the hands of the Kan'on, the attack was as swift as it was lethal.

In spite of his exhaustion and the horror he had felt when Kaguya had started to turn his trump card into dust, Naruto had not lost the ability that Kakuzu had hammered into him above all other: using his mind. From the moment Naruto had woken up from the near-death that Zetsu and Kakuzu had put him in, from the moment he had basically lost his first life, they had put him through a horrendous cycle of training- what was basically just another name for attempted murder- and recovery. From the very first moment, 'Kūnomori' of Akatsuki had been forced to adapt, as he constantly fought opponents who were superior in power.

With all that training, being able to constantly adapt his strategy was a basic skill he had nearly instinctively mastered. So when Naruto saw that he was losing his Jūichimen Kan'on, he knew he only had one alternative. He lacked the reserves to recreate the Kan'on, and lacked the time to refill his reserves. He couldn't fight her head-on, so the only way out was deception.

It was a dangerous gamble against someone who wielded both byakugan and, as far he could see, a mutated form of the rinnegan. If she had been on her guard, if she had kept her eyes on him as any proper shinobi would have done, she would have seen how he had sunken into the decaying statue. She would have seen that he had left a Moku Bunshin behind.

But she didn't see any of it.

"I told you that you revealed your own weakness," Naruto glared at the two enormous hands that were clasped together- with Kaguya in between. "And I wasn't just pointing to the possibility that my Senpō jutsu might work against you. It was your arrogance that blinded you, that made you fail to see me coming."

The hands of the Kan'on clenched tightly, with the deadly thorns of the left palm piercing the white flesh of the haughty Ōtsutsuki, injecting the chakra that would bloom into a poison that would end her life, while the right hand's influence kept her from diverting her chakra into any form of counterattack. The hand even prevented her from draining the chakra out of the wooden appendages, the chakra through which Naruto controlled the hands.

"I hope the true gods will take pity when they judge your soul," Naruto growled. "Not that you will receive any pity from me."

He forced the hands so close to each other that Kaguya began to feel her bones break under the pressure. She cried out, not merely due to the pain, but due to the frustration she felt. Unlike her, Naruto did not play with his prey. A sickening squelch ended her torment in a manner that would have made Kakuzu proud.

If these past years had taught him one thing, a lesson that his naïve former self would never have accepted, it was that some people simply did not deserve mercy. Some had done things that put them beyond redemption. Sacrificing a large part of mankind and turning them into the living husks that were the Zetsu was one of those irredeemable things. And above all…

"You really should not have threatened Aji-chan, you three-eyed bitch."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

This chapter took a somewhat philosophical turn when the conflict between Kaguya and Naruto turned into a clash of ideas, a debate rather than a mere fistfight. It was an aspect of the battle between Naruto and Nagato that I really liked in the manga, and I hope I managed to pull off something comparable in this chapter!

To recap: Kaguya arrogantly believes herself to be elevated above all other things, as a goddess who has the power to render 'divine judgment' over the lesser species. Even when she doesn't even realize that she barely understands those 'lesser species'. At the same time, Naruto accepts that he is but a small cog in a boundless nature, though he doesn't let his wishful thinking stand in the way of a healthy dose of realism. He knows his understanding is limited, yet at the same time he believes that Kaguya is a monster who deserves nothing but death, for the threat she poses to the world is too great.

I know; many will disagree with Naruto's view on the world. A more extremist point of view would have been easier to convey and easier to understand. But I truly do not believe that the extremes of a spectrum can ever be the right answer- even if it is the _easy_ answer. And the world has shown us that easy answers are hardly ever the 'right' answers. The best things are usually achieved the hard way, after all. Sadly, lazy as we are, we still prefer the easy answers…

Now, please leave reviews, thank **Illuminated** for his continued efforts, and I hope you can muster the patience to wait for the extra-long last chapter of Asunder!

(There's going to be an epilogue after that too!)

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	27. Reformation

_I'm honestly surprised that people thought my version of Kaguya was weak. She just got freed from a thousand years of captivity, immediately captured the world's population, fights Ajisai, drains the Kyūbi from its chakra, and tries to subdue Naruto. I honestly was worried that I made her too overpowered by letting her do all that at the same time and still be able to toy with Naruto. Even in canon things did not happen all at once._

* * *

 **Asunder**

 **Chapter Twenty Seven**

 **Reformation**

* * *

" _Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is what people fear most."_

― Fyodor Dostoyevsky

* * *

He tried to see but… ' _Hey, Kurama, you there?'_

" _ **Y** **es… I'm still here**_ ," the fox spoke up after a few dreadfully silent seconds. For a moment, Naruto feared that he had been too late in defeating Kaguya, and that she had consumed all of the Kyūbi's chakra. He let out a deep sigh in relief. The fox sounded exhausted, but at least he was still intact. Shrunken, probably, but that would be fixed eventually.

' _Could you help?'_ Naruto asked tiredly. His body was brimming with chakra, but it was rather weird and difficult to control right now. ' _I'm as blind as a bat.'_

" _ **I just barely escaped a fate worse than death, and you're already hounding me? Pesky humans**_ ," Kurama sighed. " _ **Fine, I'll help you direct your chakra. Your eyes are gone, but considering your chakra currently exceeds the usual limitations, re-creation should lie within my ability**_ _."_

' _Really?'_ Naruto would have blinked if he had eyes. ' _That sounds impos-'_

" _ **When a Bijū 'dies', it is capable of recreating its body after some time, remember?**_ "

' _Ah, of course. Sorry,'_ he thought sheepishly. He felt the flow of chakra change, and made an effort to not hinder Kurama in any way. Such was the trust he had in the fox, his friend, that he basically lowered every sort of defense he knew that, if Kurama so wished, the fox could use that moment to instantly destroy the seal that kept the being imprisoned… but the Kyūbi refrained from doing so. Not due to exhaustion, not due to some sense of honor, not even because the fox respected the boy's current power, but rather because they trusted each other. After all the hardships they had gone through together their bond had changed fundamentally, and they both knew it- even if neither admitted it out loud.

" _ **Open them,**_ " Kurama eventually huffed- sounding perhaps even more exhausted than before. " _ **Now I need some time to regain… ugh, I'd kill for some sleep. So hurry up and finish this!**_ _"_

' _Thank you, Kurama. I'll make sure humanity will know the part you played in their salvation.'_

" _ **As if I could give a rat's ass about that,**_ _"_ the audibly cranky bijū grumbled before cutting off the connection.

Naruto lifted himself from the crater in which he had found himself 'waking up'. The sense of awe he felt was instantly replaced by worry, as he saw the extent of the damage around him. "Fuck… I've really gone wild, haven't I?" Naruto cursed, desperately searching his surroundings for the chakra signatures of his friends- for Ajisai's, most of all.

Nine orbs of solid black chakra seemed to distort his senses. The moment he became aware of them, he realized that he could change their shapes with a mere thought. "What did Kaguya call these things again… Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Ball)?" Naruto touched one of the orbs, and made it change shapes.

Changing one from a cube to a rectangle, he eventually settled on making it a flat saucer-like circle. Stepping on it, he used it to float up. This method of 'flying' was a bit scary at first, as he didn't like losing touch of the earth under his feet, but he needed to get a better view of this battlefield. All the orientation points seemed strange to him. The last thing he remembered was standing in the middle of Takigakure, or at least the remnants of that village, where he was surrounded by mountains. This landscape, however, barely contained any mountain that was worth noting. There were plenty of scattered boulders, though.

From his vantage point, Naruto finally noticed a familiar shade of orange. While he missed the color of lavender, he'd be lying if he ever said orange looked bad on her. Orange had always been his favorite color, even before Zetsu had warped him. Her rinnegan required some more getting used to, though he wouldn't say that to her- hurting her feelings was the last thing he wanted. But those eyes were things that he associated with Pein, the enemy, so… ' _With a little time that shouldn't matter to me anymore, I'm just glad she's still alive. Though, I'm not complaining that she lost those piercings.'_

" _ **Why don't you stop rambling and hurry? Her chakra is nearly completely depleted,**_ " Kurama remarked, apparently unable to sleep. " _ **It might not be immediately life-threatening, but I'd say that bringing her to that big-chested Kage of yours would be best.**_ _"_

' _She's no longer my Kage, Kurama,_ ' Naruto reminded the fox.

" _ **You are going through with that plan?**_ _"_

' _I might need some help,'_ the Uzumaki admitted sheepishly. ' _Like, a lot of it. Any idea on how to communicate it to the rest?'_

" _ **Assuming that you mean to imply that you wish to converse with every shinobi when you used that vague 'the rest', I'd say leave them stuck in the Shinju while you fetch that Yamanaka girl. With her help, you should be able to reach all the souls connected to the God Tree.**_ _"_

' _Hmm, I suppose that could work. I do feel everyone, now that you say it. I did stop the Shinju from draining their chakra. It seems like it would be overkill if I weakened them even more. The shinobi population has already lost a great deal of chakra, and it appears to be a permanent decrease in their reserves as well. I don't think that weakening them too much would be healthy, though.'_

" _ **Correct. If the shinobi lose too much of their power, the non-shinobi forces will try to usurp the position they hold, leading to new forms of chaos. But at least they are now weakened enough to diminish the consequences of future rogue shinobi.**_ _"_

' _Yeah, we wouldn't want another organization such as Akatsuki, with shinobi that are capable of wiping out entire villages…'_

" _ **Whatever. Once you free my brethren from the clutches of the tree, you don't need to worry. Even the likes of Pein would be mere ants for you to step on.**_ _"_

' _I don't want that sort of power,'_ Naruto scowled. ' _I'm not Kaguya!'_

" _ **Just go to your vixen**_ _,"_ Kurama laughed at the boy's indignation. " _ **Though I would advise you not to impregnate her while the Shinju is still out and you are like this. Unless you want little Ōtsutsuki babies, of course…**_ _"_

"KURAMA!" the jinchūriki blushed up a storm, in spite of his now pale skin. He really hoped his looks would return to normal after he took down the Shinju and extracted the bijū from it.

Ignoring the laughing fox, or at least trying to do so- the loud roaring laughter within his mindscape was rather hard to shut out in his current state of embarrassment- Naruto ordered his 'flying saucer' to fly in Ajisai's direction.

* * *

Legs? Check. Arms? Check. Torso? Check. All seemed to be intact.

' _Well, mostly…'_ she wearily thought. ' _Seems like I was just in time with that last Shinra Tensei. Ugh… my reserves are really completely spent now.'_

That was rather bad news. Whatever the hell had just occurred, it could not be good. In fact, she knew that he- though she preferred to refer to him as 'it' at this point- had lost no power at all. The bloated form of what was the Jūbi-controlled Uzumaki Naruto had tried to attack her over and over again, but in the form it had at the time, it was no longer fast enough. Apparently, self-destruction was the answer to it.

' _If not for the rinnegan, I would never have seen it coming.'_ The way he kept amassing chakra was a dead giveaway to someone who could see chakra, so she had already kept her distance. But rather than some kind of big jutsu, what she had been anticipating, it had just kept gathering chakra until it reached the point that it destabilized and exploded- taking along a large part of the already mutilated landscape.

Of course, that was not the end. She had used Shinra Tensei, pouring all her remaining power into the jutsu, in a desperate attempt to shield herself. It was too much and too fast to switch to Preta Path and attempt to absorb it. Such quantities of chakra would've destroyed every last chakra pathway in her body, even if there had been a chance to switch.

It was very difficult to imagine that there had once been a thriving village in this region, that these very grounds had been fertile and filled with trees. Now… now, it just looked like some kind of apocalyptic landscape- as if a comet had struck down and wiped out everything.

She was tired, so terribly tired. Her every limb trembled as she strained to get back up on her feet. She needed to be ready for its next attack. Though, she wondered whether her body could endure another. Perhaps it wasn't just her body that was exhausted.

"Naruto-kun, why didn't I go with you when you had to leave Ame?" she mumbled near deliriously. "I know you'd say I couldn't, that I shouldn't… because it'd be too dangerous for me. But if I had gone with you… this wouldn't have happened, would it? You wouldn't have lost me… I wouldn't have lost you…"

Those last words were practically sobs, and tears blinded her already fuzzy eyesight. She didn't have enough physical energy left, nor was her spiritual energy enough, to keep herself together. Sadness, anger, frustration, it all boiled over and came out in tears. The once so stoic and reserved Ajisai had reached her limits.

When she saw a blurry silhouette come down in front of her, she still continued, for Naruto, for that impossible dream they had held within their hearts, even if it had only been for a short time. She couldn't say she regretted the fact that she was about to die- again. There was only one thing about her life that she wished she could change.

"I wish I could have lived at your side sooner, Naruto-kun," she cried. "Rasengan!"

The blur only moved a few inches back, even though she had put all she had into that last attack. As usual, 'it' remained completely silent. She had hoped she had at least done some damage, but knew that such hope was foolish. No ninjutsu seemed to have any effect on the Jūbi, ever. The jutsu innate to the rinnegan were an exception to that rule, apparently, but considering how her Deva Path was still on recharge…

Sinking to her knees, she resigned herself to her fate.

"Go on… kill me…" she took one last look at the wooden ring Naruto had given her, trying and failing to contain her tears. "It's not like I-"

The Jūbi-Naruto grabbed her by her shoulders, silencing her. Convinced that it was about to finish her off, she squeezed her eyes shut.

'W _ait, what's it doing?'_ she felt warm, and its proximity was unusually close- close as in being in hugging distance. Well, the arms that held her close to it- him- were a dead giveaway as well. ' _Could it… it can't be… can it?'_

"Why would I ever wish to kill you," the comforting voice of Uzumaki Naruto dragged her out of her thoughts, and made her open up the waterworks completely.

"Y-you fool!"

"I know," Naruto awkwardly patted his crying fiancée on her back. "I'm sorry for worrying you. But it's over now, Aji-chan. It is finally over. I'm sorry that mwuh!"

Before he had managed to finish his line she smacked her lips on his, resulting in a searing kiss neither would ever forget. Although, they at that moment, completely forgot about everything around them. The country around them had been torn apart by the Jūbi, Shinju, and when Kaguya had tried to take over his body. Amidst this apocalyptic view, the two lovers only had attention for each other.

* * *

" **A** _ **s heart-warming as your reunion is**_ _,"_ Kurama cleared his throat after gracefully having given his jinchūriki a bit of time to enjoy the proximity, and taste, of his woman. ' _ **You didn't forget about the entire world population being trapped within the clutches of the Shinju, did you?**_ _"_

'…'

" _ **Ugh… humans.**_ _"_

' _Cut me some slack!'_

" _ **Just keep your clothes on and hurry up. I suggest liberating the ones you need is your first priority now. Getting cubs can be done later**_ _,"_ the fox sighed. " _ **And don't think I didn't notice what's on your mind right now. I'd rather avoid being the spectator of this peepshow, thank you very much…**_ _"_

Naruto blushed, and forced himself to end the kiss before he couldn't stop himself from ravaging Ajisai right then and there. Judging by her heated expression, her thoughts weren't too far from that point either. His blue eyes radiated a hunger he'd need to postpone now, no matter how it annoyed him.

"I love you, Aji-chan," he squeezed her hands. "But as much as I wish I could continue to kiss you, I think we have some friends who would like to get freed." At this, her eyes widened and her blush only intensified. "I know, I nearly forgot as well," he admitted sheepishly. "Can you absorb chakra?"

"Uh, y-yeah?" she stammered. Right after she felt a massive flow of chakra from his hands. "I can use Preta Path," the orange haired girl mumbled. "H-how much-"

"I don't know what limits I have in this state," he chuckled. "I destroyed the ego of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the woman who was originally merged with the Shinju, and became the Jūbi, but apparently I still have all the power. At least, until I destroy the Shinju and liberate the Bijū."

"You're… going to give up that power?"

"It is too much power for one man to have," he admitted earnestly. "Even for me, the risks are simply too great. I already have too much blood on my hands to say that I'm a good guy. No, I'd rather be my old self again. It would be better for me, and better for the world at large. Besides, I promised Kurama that I'd free the bijū. But before that, I'll shake up the shinobi world, and destroy the foundation of violence on which it was built. It is about time we ended all the wars, don't you agree?"

His carefree smile removed the shadow of doubt that his words had cast over her. Through the Preta Path she could feel his might, yet even she could not imagine how powerful he could be if she thought about how his sage mode could increase his current power. Despite that, he was willing to throw that power away, without any hesitation. "Only you, Naruto-kun, only you."

"What?"

She leaned forward and kissed him, this time without deepening it. "Let's go. Suiren, Ino, Tsunade, Konan… everyone is waiting!"

"Yeah, let's get it over with. If I stick in this form for too long I might just end up becoming as monstrous as the Jūbi was." The carefree way in which he said it stood in stark contrast with the panicked look Ajisai gave him. "These robes fit nicely, and these black Ping-Pong balls are useful, but you really think a human such as me could contain such power without being changed by it?"

"I… see," she swallowed. "You're not going to lose your whiskers, will you?"

"Ehh, I don't know?" he blinked, confused by the sudden switch in the conversation. Not to mention that the slight pout made him wonder why she suddenly found those whiskers so important. "Why would it be important if I lose them?"

"Well, just don't," she huffed, before dragging the white-clad jinchūriki closer. "They look cute."

Naruto ignored the exasperated sigh within his head, and shortly after, closed off the connection when Kurama began to make gagging sounds. After all that happened, after all the time they had been separated, Naruto just couldn't resist kissing Ajisai. Whether or not his hand wandered down a little while they were busy wouldn't hurt anyone.

After all, it wasn't like anyone aside from them was going to move by themselves…

* * *

It felt so warm, so secure, yet all of a sudden that comfort had left her. It made her wonder what had happened to get her here. It was all so fuzzy and… well, the word 'blank' came to mind. For her, as someone of a clan filled with mind readers, it was frightening to realize that she had a gap in her memories.

' _What's the last I can remember? Focus, Ino, focus!'_ she scolded herself. ' _Let's see. Hinata-chan said she saw that we succeeded, that Ajisai transferred the other half of the Kyūbi, and that Naruto had been freed. Yes, after that we moved to attack the Jūbi, but what happened after that?'_

She groaned when the last remnants of warmth fled away, after which she was exposed to the chilly air outside the… ' _Why on earth was I wrapped up in a cocoon?'_

Blinking, as the cold air- it had been so intoxicatingly comfortable within that darn cocoon- got in her eyes, Yamanaka Ino took a moment to look around. Whatever she had expected to see, this was not it. A tree that was greater than any she'd ever seen before was looming over them, while her surroundings had changed completely. As if someone had decided to thoroughly redecorate the landscape. What once had been Takigakure was now merely a collection of craters.

"Yo," a calm voice greeted her from behind her. "Everyone up?"

"Yes," a polite answer came.

"Y-yes," a second affirmative came, though this was the familiar, yet hesitant, voice of Shizune.

"What the hell did you do, brat?" and there was her Hokage, Senju Tsunade, with her usual subtlety.

"Naruto?" Ino jerked around, seeing the jinchūriki with his arm lifted up in a greeting posture. His other arm was currently occupied, as Ajisai was practically glued to his side.

"Ino," Naruto smiled, though she wondered why his eyes showed a hint of pain. Little did she know that he, just by seeing her, had relived that cruel illusion that Kaguya had tried to trap him in. True, that life had been the dream of the Naruto that had left Konoha, years ago, but the current Naruto had a different dream, and thereby his reason to escape the supposedly infallible genjutsu. While ignorant of what had happened, Ino was well aware of the fact that things had changed, and had reconciled with that fact. There was no use clinging to times that had long since passed. She refused to become a person like Tsunade, deeming herself too young to end up being broken like that.

"You're free? Is it over?" She ignored the fact that Tsunade, Shizune, Konan, and even Suiren were already trying to get back on their feet. She was too busy staring at the now white-clad and pale Uzumaki to bother getting up from the ground where the cocoon had opened.

"Yup," he chuckled. "It's allllll over."

"It's not," Ajisai rolled her eyes. "Don't lie, Naruto-kun."

"I'm not! The battles are over, Aji-chan," he whined. "You shouldn't count the fools that are going to go against our plan."

"Hm, I suppose you're right… at this point no one would be able to put up much of a fight against you," the rinnegan bearer mused. "Or me," she added cheekily. "I'll destroy anyone who dares try taking you away from me."

"What are you two talking about?" Tsunade narrowed her brown eyes, her shaky arms crossing underneath her impressive chest. "What kind of plan?"

"You'll see soon enough, Baa-chan," Naruto chuckled. "If you and Shizune-neechan would be so kind and patch up Ino-chan. I'll be in need of her and her abilities, preferably as soon as possible."

"Where is the Jūbi?" Konan questioned, making Ino wonder why she herself hadn't thought of that rather important thing yet. The Jūbi was, after all, the threat that could destroy the world. It couldn't have just gone up in smoke, could it?

"That's… complicated," the smile of the Uzumaki faltered slightly. "Let's say that part of it is dead, another part is out there," he pointed at the Shinju, "while the other part resides within me."

"That is not very specific, brat," Tsunade scowled. "But you beat it, right?"

"Partly," Naruto again dodged the question. "I know," he put up his hand, the one not held by Ajisai, in defense. "I know it is frustrating, but I'll answer your questions soon. Though I suppose you might be even more frustrated when you do get the answers… perhaps I shouldn't say a thing?"

"What are you intending to do with all that power?" Konan wasn't intending to let herself be distracted by the pale jinchūriki. Like Ino, and like the others as well, she was confused about why his skin had become so pale. The change in clothing was peculiar as well, as he now wore a full-bodied black garment with black pants, gloves, and boots, over which he had a flowing white robe with six black magatama markings across his chest and three more of the 'nine-like' symbols on his back. Even his bright blond hair had grown several shades paler. But at least his eyes were the same bright blue as they always were.

Though for Konan and Suiren, unlike Ino, Tsunade, and Shizune, there was an unfamiliar glint of mischief in those blue eyes. The two of them had, unlike the Leaf ninja, not known him from before he had 'died' at Kakuzu's hands.

"Oh, nothing much. Just a complete reform of the Shinobi world," he said offhandedly. "I might need to take away the privilege of wielding chakra from a few hundred shinobi, but aside from that there will not be so much change. At least, not for you guys, who wish for peace."

"The warmongers, on the other hand," Ajisai smirked, "will need persuasion."

"Yup, they're screwed," Naruto nodded. "So if you'd please get Ino-chan back on her feet with full chakra reserves, then I'll convey that message to everyone."

Five blank stares were the answer they got.

"Naruto-kun, I don't think you clarified how you intend to connect to people. Nor to whom you'll be talking."

"Correct," Konan agreed with Ajisai.

"Everyone, as in… everyone?"

"Yes, Baa-chan. _Everyone_. You guys are the first ones I freed from the Shinju, now that the 'God Tree' is part of me. But everyone else is still trapped in cocoons such as those," he pointed up at the massive branches of the Shinju, where countless cocoons were still hanging. "The Shinju caught every living being with a trace of chakra within them, which is basically everything alive. All I need is for Ino to help me communicate with them."

"W-with every shinobi in the world?" the Yamanaka paled. "That's impossible!"

"Meh, don't freak out," Naruto waved it away. "I'll set up the connection. It's just… I can convey feelings, but coherent words are a lot more difficult. You, on the other hand, have been trained in this for years. It might take some chakra to sustain that connection, but I'll make sure that I bear the vast majority of that strain. And with Aji-chan, Baa-chan, and Shizune-neechan around, there are three people who can support you."

"This is insane," Suiren mumbled. The green-haired girl shook her head. "I know you're powerful, but that's simply impossible."

"No it's not."

"It… does sound unrealistic," Shizune hesitantly chimed in.

"…"

"Ugh, if the brat says he can do it, I'll trust him," Tsunade decided to back him up. "But all this stuff about plans. Are you ready to take over my hat?"

"Me?" Naruto blinked in surprise. "Hokage? Neh, sorry Baa-chan, but I don't think that'll be good for anyone."

"Why?"

"I'm going to become the leader of a neutral party," he chose his words carefully. "And if any of the villages were too closely tied with the person who is basically the jinchūriki of all nine bijū… well, inequality doesn't exactly promote peace, does it?"

"You are leaving Konoha?" Tsunade stared at him.

"I asked you, before this mess began, if you thought that I'd still be suitable to be a shinobi of Konoha. Now I know the answer. I'm not. I cannot be part of an institution when I am going to deconstruct and reshape the system in which that institution operates. Such a paradox would undermine all our efforts. Becoming Hokage was once my dream, as I wanted everyone to acknowledge me for whom and what I was. But right now, after all that I've been through, after all the power I gained, I realize that I need to aim for something higher. Absolute peace is impossible, but I will at least make an effort to wipe out the large-scale conflicts. To do that, I'll need to stand above the hidden villages that form the bulk of every nation's military power."

"You plan to be a dictator?" Konan glared at him, obviously misunderstanding his words.

"He is not, Konan-sa… san," Ajisai swallowed the honorific midway. "He is merely intending to be a guide. As for his power, he intends to give up most of it."

"I promised Kurama that I'd free him and the other bijū, and I intend to keep my word," Naruto nodded. "While I'll still be far more powerful than any other shinobi, I wouldn't be… too powerful." The idea that he'd one day start to see himself as a god, just like Kaguya had done, frightened him. However, he figured that his situation was different from hers, simply because he wasn't alone.

"Then the villages-"

"There will be no more jinchūriki," Naruto knew where Tsunade was going. "The bijū will be dealt with in due time, but Kurama thinks that it is highly likely that they'll all agree to help me and the group that I'll form. So… now that we've gone past the introductions, can we move on and continue with the plan? I'd rather not keep the Shinju out longer than necessary, as it requires quite a bit of concentration to prevent it from continuing to drain the world's population of chakra."

"Very well," Tsunade muttered.

"Don't look so sad, Baa-chan," Naruto sighed. "It's not like I'm going to destroy the world or anything. It's just that I am going to forbid warfare and armed conflict between villages in general. While that's going to change the way a hidden village needs to generate revenue, as the whole economy will change as a consequence, it is not the end of the shinobi system."

"I'll trust that you know what you are doing. I still don't like it that you refuse to go back home, though."

* * *

" _Greetings everyone. I hope you have all enjoyed your slumber within the embrace of the God Tree…_

 _There is no cause for fear. I am well aware that, especially in our world, trust is something that is hard to give. Regardless, I ask you all to calm down and trust me. You, and every other living soul with you, will soon be released from the cocoon that traps you, but first there are a few things that I need to share._

 _First, and foremost, is the announcement that there will be an assembly in the region that was formerly Takigakure. The Gokage, as well as the other leaders of the hidden villages, are expected to attend this meeting. We recently averted the annihilation of the human race, and as a consequence your leaders need to be informed about several things. Rest assured, though, in the knowledge that the Jūbi is defeated. Mankind is free to live another day._

 _However, my second point is that, from this moment on, armed conflict between nations or villages is forbidden. Fail to heed my warning, and you will lose your ability to manipulate chakra. This threat is not an idle one, as I am the one who is currently in control of the very thing that managed to capture every living being on this planet. Furthermore, you should note that I am the jinchūriki of all nine bijū… while I prefer to avoid conflict, I would advise you not to ignore my warning._

 _Many wrongs have been done in the past, and I am willing to forget about them. We should not allow ourselves to be defined by the sins of our past. Nor should we intend to pursue vengeance for grievances of the past. Rather than linger, we must learn from our past, use it as a lesson and move on. All I wish for is for the world to be at peace. I stopped the Jūbi from destroying the world, but I will not, and cannot, tolerate you continuing to walk a similar path of destruction._

 _As such, Kumogakure and Konohagakure are to immediately cease their actions against Iwagakure. Likewise, the rebels within Kirigakure are to retreat. Go back to your homes. If you do not cease your military activities, I will see myself forced to intervene. If there is any individual or group foolish enough to wish to challenge me, I ask you to arrive before the assembly commences, rather than disrupting it. While I will not hold your past transgressions against you, I will show no mercy against those whom insist on continuing these meaningless conflicts and wars from now on._

 _In two weeks' time your leaders are expected to attend the assembly in the territory where Takigakure was once located. There we will discuss both the past and the future of our nations. There we will discuss how the current conflicts came to be, as well as how we can end them. So, leaders of the shinobi world, come to the assembly in two weeks' time._

 _Until then, I pray that you wish to live in peace."_

* * *

Naruto sighed, relieved that it was finally over.

At the start, he had paused for a moment, as he could feel the confusion and growing sense of panic of those who had been woken by the pulse of chakra he had sent through the Shinju. The sheer multitude of emotions had threatened to overwhelm him. Not that anyone could do much against the way they were held within the cocoons of the Shinju, as none were able to access their chakra at the moment. So, whether they wanted to or not, no one had a choice: they simply had to listen to him.

After waking them, however, he had continued his message as quickly and clearly as possible, considering how he knew that Ino would not survive it if he talked for too long. He estimated that he had covered for about ninety-five percent of the chakra cost, while she had Ajisai, Tsunade, _and_ Shizune helping her by transferring chakra to her… and yet the four of them were barely able to cope with that small fraction of the chakra-draining communiqué. He granted himself a short moment of awe, amazed by the power he wielded, allowing them to catch their breaths.

"Are you okay?" he looked at the women. Ino and Ajisai were flat on their backs, too exhausted to keep standing up, while Shizune was practically sleeping on Tsunade's shoulder. The Senju was the only one of the four who still seemed to have some energy left.

"They'll be fine, after a good night's rest at least," she smiled.

"Good, then I'll take down the Shinju. But first…" he expertly flashed though a sequence of five hand seals he knew all too well. "Mokuton: Shichūka no Jutsu (Wood Release: Four-Pillar House Technique)"

Usually a small two-floor building would grow. But with the excess of chakra he currently had at his disposal he could create a far greater building. Large enough to house himself and the six women, while still having a dozen spare rooms. "Konan, Suiren, could you help Baa-chan to get these sleepy-heads inside? I'll go and wake up the remainder of the world's population, 'kay?"

"Yeah… you do that," Suiren shook her head with a deadpan expression. The continuous state of disbelief at what he did, combined with the careless way that he said what he was going to do, left her too stunned to retort properly. _'I bet Fuyō would've smacked him on the head or something,'_ she thought sadly.

* * *

"I'm home!"

"How did it go?" Ajisai called from the kitchen.

"Meh, just as boring as all the others," Naruto muttered from the living room. "You'd think Kumo would stop sending these idiotic would-be assassins. This was their fifth squad of jōnin. At the very least, they could give up on the idea that they're able to sneak towards us without being detected…"

"Their tenacity is admirable," Ajisai giggled. She idly wondered how many people would have this sort of discussion. Most would be terrified if their loved ones had to face dozens of elite shinobi, and yet she didn't feel worried at all. ' _Now that Black Zetsu is gone and the Jūbi are dealt with, it just feels like everything is perfect. As if there's nothing left that could threaten us.'_

"Smells great," Naruto walked into the kitchen. He had just taken off his boots and robes, cleaning them of the dust that had gotten on them while he had been fighting the stubborn Kumo nin. He wondered how many more he needed to send back before they got the message. ' _Then again… stupid, I should've considered this sooner! After I take away their chakra, they can't travel at high speeds. So it is likely that none of the previous idiots have reached their village yet. Ugh. I guess I'll have to visit Kumo tomorrow.'_

"It's the rabbit you caught, seasoned with the spices and some other stuff Jiraiya had stored."

Peeking into the pan, his eyes widened. "Fried rabbit ramen?" he leaned in and kissed her on her cheek. "Just when I thought I couldn't possibly love you any more than I did."

"Sycophant," Ajisai giggled, feeling happy when his arms enveloped her while he stood behind her, his chin resting in a bed of orange hair. "It's just improvisation, though. No clue if it'll taste good. You won't believe how much sealed food he gathered. It's a bit annoying that he didn't label any of those scrolls…"

"Well, after you unsealed this entire house, I can't say I'm easily surprised by him sealing away food," Naruto admitted.

Of course, some of the things they had found were less entertaining. Ajisai, for example, was rather disgusted by the amount of 'research material' that Jiraiya had hoarded- the enormous collection of pornography, as well as pictures of scantily clad or outright naked women, all taken by the peeping pervert himself- was something she didn't really appreciate. Though, Naruto thought that the man's dedication deserved at least some credit. Personally, he intended to investigate that particular storage hall a bit better. In private.

Regardless of the man's perverted quirks, they were both happy to live in this house, as it had a far homier feeling to it than any of Naruto's constructs had. While it, at first, felt as if they were trespassing in the man's property, they had quickly reached the decision that it was a good way to honor his sacrifice by living in a place that was essentially a monument to his memory. "Ero-sennin was an odd fellow, but I never thought that that big scroll he always carried with him would contain literally everything he owned."

"Don't be sad, Naruto-kun," Ajisai said softly, after her fiancé had fallen silent. "He wanted you to be free, to be happy. You've read the letter he wrote for you, his resolution and last will. We should honor him, and be thankful for what he did- not just for you, but also for your father."

Among the many things Jiraiya had kept sealed within his scroll, the most personal items were the letters which the man had written. He had planned his own death, so he had made all the preparations he could. He planned not just to say his final goodbyes to those he cared about, but he also left detailed instructions and messages for the members of his network. He had, after all, kept one of the largest independent information networks in the shinobi world, effectively acting as Konoha's spymaster. It was humbling to see how the man had kept his focus on his duties, even in the face of the terrible fate he had chosen.

"I am aware," Naruto ensured her. "But until I have freed his soul, I won't feel happy about his sacrifice. Hell, even after I know he's free I'll miss him. I really wish I had gotten a chance to know him sooner. I didn't even know he was my godfather…"

"Free him?" Ajisai frowned.

"Yeah, I told you about how I met my mom, right? She explained to me how the Shiki Fūjin worked, and how I'd be able to free my dad's soul. You know… that whole fūinjutsu thing was a kinjutsu from the Uzumaki clan," he smiled weakly. "If it's me, that mask will be a lot safer to use."

"I'm not going to let you get away from me again, you hear?" Ajisai turned around and poked at his chest. "Jiraiya-sama didn't give up his life for you to end up in the belly of the Shinigami."

"I know, and it won't happen," Naruto promised, dragging her into a firm embrace. "Did you really think Kaa-san would've wanted my soul to end up like that? Have faith, my love."

"It's not that I don't believe in you, Naruto-kun. But… after all that happened, after everything that went wrong, I find it difficult not to get scared when you say you intend to mess around with the Shinigami," Ajisai confessed. "It's not like I doubt you, but…"

"You should," the Uzumaki chuckled. "Considering the crazy plan Kurama and I cooked up, I think it would be pretty normal to doubt me. I know I do!"

"Hmm, as long as the majority of the villages are willing to cooperate…"

"Even if I more or less ordered the world's leaders to go to the summit, we can't exactly achieve what we want on our own power. We need them to cooperate willingly," Naruto agreed. "This whole endeavor would have been doomed to fail if I had tried to do it all on my own. Just look at Kaguya."

"You're better than her."

"Alone I'm not, but I have you at my side," he kissed her on her forehead. "You've seen how I was before you."

"Yes, you're definitely a sycophant," she gently punched him in the stomach. "Let's get something to eat."

"Yes, dear," he said in mock-submission, earning himself another playful punch.

Quietly, just enjoying each other's presence, the two decided to sit at the porch. From here they could see the beginnings of how they envisioned reshaping the destroyed landscape, with several forests added by Naruto and a large lake created by Ajisai- who was starting to like Shinra Tensei more and more. They had agreed to name the lake after her fallen friend, Fuyō, or perhaps they would name a planned river for her; they hadn't made up their minds about that just yet. 'Lake Fuyō' didn't sound too shabby either.

"Fried rabbit ramen… I think I'll go hunt us some more rabbit from now on," Naruto let out a content sigh when he finally finished his meal- which was practically five times the amount of food that Ajisai had consumed. She really wondered how he could eat that much, especially when it concerned ramen.

"We're not going to eat ramen every day, Naruto-kun," Ajisai looked at him, giggling when he pulled off an utterly horrified expression. "And I won't fall for the puppy-eye method either."

"Butbutbut… ramen. It's _ramen_ ," he whined. "It's the food of the gods!"

"We got a letter from Tsunade today," she smiled at his antics, but ultimately decided to change the subject. He had become far more carefree ever since they'd started to live together like this, after the others had returned to their respective villages. "Apparently there are two clan leaders who insisted on joining her, as well as two village elders."

"Jeez, if this keeps up I'll have to increase the size of the assembly hall again," the jinchūriki muttered. "Oh well, I did specifically say the 'Gokage and other leaders', so I should've expected this."

"Do you think they'll attempt to stop the assembly?"

"Of course," Naruto chuckled humorlessly. "If Kurama's accounts of our history have shown me one thing, it would be that we're always inclined to create and maintain conflict. Right now, we threaten the very foundation of the economy that keeps the hidden villages going. We'll be their number one enemy… so yes, they'll _try_ to stop us."

"Hm, well at least it will be a good opportunity to show the rest of our visitors that you're not joking around, and that they should not be underestimating me."

They both wondered how the assembly would go. Would they be forced to subjugate the villages, or would they listen to reason? Much would depend on how the Gokage, the leaders of the five strongest villages, would act. The support of Konan, on behalf of Amegakure, would be a given, but the others…

Neither of the young adults wished to wage another war, even though they were both well aware that it would be painfully short. With the power Naruto had at his disposal, even the five villages united would not stand a chance. To make the matters even more unfair, Ajisai's chakra reserves just kept on growing. Naruto didn't tell her, but he knew this was Kurama's silent thanks for her efforts to make him whole again.

They watched the sun set over the ruins of the former territory of Takigakure. As the temperature began to lower, Ajisai scooted closer to Naruto, who held her in a one-armed embrace.

"Do you think we did the right thing?" Naruto suddenly asked from out of the blue. "With Ero-sennin, I mean," he clarified. "He… for what he did, he deserves some kind of monument, so that none will ever forget him. Like the Valley of the End."

"You heard Tsunade," Ajisai sighed. "Jiraiya never really had a place he called his. He affiliated with Konoha for most of his life, and spent a lot of time there as well, but in his heart he was a wanderer. You know well enough that he now rests at his true home."

After the conflict had settled down, they had been forced to decide the final resting place of Jiraiya. Naruto, as he could practically feel everyone in the entire world, was already aware that the man had perished— but not how. It had saddened him when he heard of the man's incredible sacrifice.

"Myōbokuzan was his true home," Naruto couldn't refute the words of Shima and Fukasaku. He, Ajisai, and Tsunade had been invited to the sacred mountain for the small ceremony- toads weren't exactly too hung up about formalities, so the burial had merely been a short ritual.

"Is that what haunts you?" Ajisai eventually asked, having observed his pained expression for a little while. He had these nightmares of which he barely spoke. It was something done to him by Kaguya, which left him frustrated and enraged when he relived it.

"That too," Naruto admitted. "Like said: I really wish I had gotten more time with him, that I could have known him a bit better. He was my godfather, my only family, after all."

"'Too'?" Ajisai had tried to be subtle up to that point, but she really wished to know what bugged him so much.

Some silent curses were muttered under his breath, as Naruto realized he had misspoken.

"Naruto-kun?"

"I told you that Kaguya tried something to break me," Naruto admitted. "That's what still gives me nightmares."

"What is it? You know, if you don't talk about it, it would-"

"I didn't want to talk about it because I was afraid that it would hurt you," he sighed, resigning himself to his fate. She was right: he had to talk about it. Keeping secrets would only be another mistake. "You know how Kakuzu and Zetsu effectively killed my old self, right? I told you how my dad interfered and sealed my memories, before either Kurama or Zetsu could completely corrupt me. Well, that led to a bit of a duality within myself. A conflict of sorts, between my old self and my new self. Kaguya attempted to trap me by making me live in an illusionary world that I would envision as perfect…"

"And?" Ajisai blinked, not understanding the problem. "You broke free, so why does it give you nightmares?"

"The world I lived in for a while was the dream my old self had. I was Hokage, had married Ino, had a son… the full monty," he grimaced. "I realized quickly enough that _something_ was off, but it wasn't that easy to realize what was going on. At that point I had no idea I was trapped in an illusion. I did not remember anything from before, other than what seemed to be some kind of vague dream. It would've been the perfect illusion to tie anyone down… anyone but me. It is ironic, considering that Zetsu is responsible for what I became, and in the process also enabled me to escape Kaguya's perfect illusion."

"So how… how did you break from that illusion?"

"It was too powerful to be broken by any normal way. Tsukuyomi probably compares to a regular genjutsu like how your Shinra Tensei would compare to a blunt kunai," Naruto shrugged. "The thing that did it, though, was my ring," he smiled while holding up the wooden ring on his finger. "I knew the wedding ring I wore in the illusion was wrong, and I kept focusing on it for so long that I eventually broke free."

"But why would that cause you nightmares?"

"Every time I dream about that life… that life I could have had if Zetsu had not screwed me over… each time I see those eyes," he sighed dejectedly. "Each time I see those desperate eyes, begging me to stay, so hurt when I said that he wasn't real, those eyes haunt me in my dreams. Minato-chan was so innocent, so filled with a longing for me, his father, that… that betrayal. I _know_ it was just an illusion, but it felt so real. So horribly real…"

He swallowed away the lump that he felt in his throat.

"But I guess that in time that pain will fade. It was just an illusion, even if my stupid brains don't seem to process that fact properly," Naruto shook himself out of his stupor. "That all was the dream of my old life. This is the dream I have now. You are."

"When I first saw you in that Akatsuki cloak, I never imagined you to be such a hopeless romantic," Ajisai smiled contently.

"First time we met I didn't wear a thing, did I?" he kissed her on her cheek. "Now that I think about it… we should rename this country to Ero no Kuni (land of the perverts), in Jiraiya's honor!"

"Hm, don't ruin the mood with jokes," Ajisai whispered, before uttering words that were music to Naruto's ears. "Just take off those clothes."

* * *

Just after he had turned around, a kunai landed on what was supposed to be a soft spot in his neck. It would have worked on anyone… anyone but him. Naruto looked back at his assailant in complete indifference, watching as the visibly terrified shinobi who held the broken kunai took a step back.

"A good try, but ultimately fruitless," Naruto remarked. "I do not know whether it is bravery or stupidity, but apparently I do have to make another example."

The shinobi, a kunoichi from Kirigakure, sank to her knees. That kunai had been coated in chakra, with enough power to decapitate a bear, yet it had simply snapped when it hit his skin. He didn't even have a scratch on him.

"How can you be so calm about this?" one of the Kirigakure-delegates demanded. Judging by the distance the man kept between himself and Terumi Mei, Naruto guessed that he was part of the rebel faction.

"About what? The number of foreign shinobi that are gathered here?" Naruto replied calmly. "I thought I already made this clear, but fine… to me it does not matter who comes here, nor how many. Even if all five villages united against me, at this point it would not matter. Any form of conflict is futile, as you could see. This is one problem none of you can solve with violence."

"She's just shown you that the current leadership of Kirigakure cannot be trusted!"

"That is a lie," Mei growled. "She was not one of mine."

"Could you stop this childish bickering, it's making my head hurt," Naruto sighed. "I told you how I would deal with this. As the Kumo delegation will undoubtedly be able to testify. After all, they've sent the largest number of victims."

Faster than even Mei's eyes could follow, Naruto moved to stand in front of the offending kunoichi, his palm landing flat on her forehead.

"That's what I said I would do," he turned around, ushering the others to follow him into the assembly hall he had created for the occasion. Mei blinked, and then turned to her Anbu guard to confirm what she thought that just happened.

"S-she no longer has any chakra at her disposal," the veteran stammered.

Not wanting to offend Naruto in any way, they all moved quickly to enter the assembly hall, where Naruto pointed them at the section he had reserved for the lot of them. Even the elder who had chosen to partake in this journey had hurried. Each and every one of them moved around the defeated, now former, kunoichi as if they feared that her suddenly inability to wield chakra might be as contagious as the plague itself.

' _Fools,'_ Naruto sighed. In the various delegations he had already disposed of several would-be assassins. People who tried their luck, in spite of the warnings he had set in place. Truthfully, he disliked that he had to do this, but he agreed with Kurama that he could not show any weakness at this stage. Their plans could work with or without the hidden villages, but they, as well as Ajisai, had agreed that it would be easier if the shinobi system was kept. Removing the villages from power would throw the entire world into unnecessary chaos, as conflict would be an inevitable part of the world finding a new status quo.

Still, when people acted, Naruto was forced to respond. Not every delegation had violent intentions. Ironically, the group from Kumo hadn't tried a thing. Naruto guessed that it was because they already lost several squads of their best jōnin during the past two weeks.

The group from Konoha had not tried anything either, at least not in terms of violence. They had tried to claim him as one of their own, due to his history as a Konoha nin. He had shot down that line of reasoning, to the point where he had suggested that he would not mind being registered in the bingo books as a missing nin, and by proxy as an enemy of Konoha. They had been annoying, but at least Tsunade had managed to rein the elders in before they said something too stupid. Naruto had idly played with the thought of taking away Koharu's chakra, but ultimately resisted the temptation. The condescending old hag even had had the nerve of 'suggesting' that his actions might put Ajisai in danger… well, it was at that moment that Tsunade cut her off. Threats, no matter how well they veiled them, would not work against Naruto. While Naruto had nothing against Tsunade, and felt the contrary actually, he would not hesitate to crush Konoha if it needed to be done for the sake of a peaceful world.

The delegations from Iwa and Suna were far easier to him. The acting Tsuchikage had expressed her thanks several times, although the elders that had followed in her wake had shown far less gratitude, and assured him that as long as she held any influence she would support him. It amused him, as she didn't even know his plans, but apparently the young woman shared his dream of a peaceful world. The Kazekage, Temari, was likeminded. She thanked him, and was glad he had emerged victorious, though she warned him that not everyone within her village was a supporter of peace. Konan had, unsurprisingly, come as the leader of Amegakure, with only Suiren at her side. Of course, the Konoha delegation- that had arrived later than the duo from Ame- had contested her presence, claiming that Ame was now their territory. Naruto had shot down that claim, without leaving any room for discussion.

Kumo's remarkably peaceful delegation had been led by a woman named Mabui, an attractive dark-skinned woman with light grey hair. It had amused him that she thanked him for not killing the 'idiots who acted without orders', as she had put it. He had the feeling that she was an intelligent one, and a skilled politician, much unlike the hot-headed Yondaime Raikage. Mabui was flanked by a couple of young guards, of whom one, a male of about Naruto's age, had recently been promoted to the rank of jōnin. While the level-headed Omoi claimed that it was due to the large loss in the jōnin ranks, Mabui had smiled and offhandedly mentioned that Omoi would be a good candidate to fill the currently empty seat of Raikage.

Aside from the major villages there were also groups, although much smaller, from the less influential villages. The foolish leader of Ishigakure no Sato (Village Hidden in Stones) had attempted to bribe him with large amounts of gold if he raised their village's status. Naruto suspected that the man was a skilled sensor, even though he didn't really amount to much of a shinobi outside that aspect. A single jōnin from Tanigakure (Hidden in the Valleys) arrived, stating that he acted under the authority of his village's leader, and apologized on that man's behalf. Apparently the actual leader was too old. Too scared, Ajisai had corrected the man, once he was out of hearing range. Naruto was inclined to agree with her. Kusa's delegation had entered without incident, much like the stoic leader from Tetsu no Kuni- if Naruto remembered it right that man had been named Mifune.

The proverbial icing on the cake came from the representatives from Shimogakure no Sato (Village Hidden in Frost). The idiots had tried to take Ajisai as a hostage. Naruto had been impressed by her display. Her mastery of the Deva Path had improved, but it seemed like she had also started to figure out how the Human Path worked. The fools had then realized that Ajisai wasn't as easy a target as they had initially thought, and had made an attempt to escape. Well… those fools would get back home, even if it would take them quite a while longer. Travelling the civilian way, as Naruto had taken away their chakra, was far slower.

With Ajisai at his side, Naruto moved to the center of the assembly hall. Clad in black, with pure white robes atop, he still looked the same. Those who could sense or, in the case of Hyūga Hiashi, see chakra, noticed that these robes were made out of pure chakra. To them, Naruto was akin to a bright light in the deep dark, the sole source of warmth in a cold winter night.

Ajisai, clad in a white dress, was definitely no weakling, as she would likely give any of the Gokage a run for their money- likely even beat them. But next to Naruto, she fell short. She didn't exactly mind it, though, knowing that the comparison was simply unfair. Those who were present mostly seemed to fear Naruto, as many of them had by now seen his power first-hand, leaving her as a more friendly option.

'Good cop, bad cop', Naruto had joked.

Clearing his throat, hinting to his 'guests' to be quiet and get seated, Naruto felt slightly annoyed that some of the squabbling parties did not shut up. Slightly releasing the chakra he suppressed from their senses was enough to scare them into silence. Now it would start, the next minutes, or possibly hours, would likely determine the fate of the world. Would the plan be implemented using the easy way, or would they be forced to go down the hard way?

Both hid their anxiety, Ajisai probably better than Naruto, as they turned to the assembled leaders of the hidden villages.

"Good. Now, to begin, I shall reintroduce myself: my name is Uzumaki Naruto," Naruto bowed, almost mockingly, before continuing. "At my side is Ajisai, bearer of the famed Rinnegan, and former kunoichi of Amegakure no Sato. As for myself, my former allegiance was with Konohagakure no Sato, although circumstances forced me to leave that village several years ago."

Mabui, acting leader of Kumogakure, stood up hesitantly, and spoke when Naruto nodded. "Are you presenting yourself as a missing nin?"

"Technically, I suppose I am, yes," Naruto answered the politely asked question with equal politeness. Inwardly, he felt relieved that they started off in such a civil manner. "As for the how and why of my defection from that village, I will need to explain some of the events that have led to the current situation. That might take some time, and I must ask you all to refrain from asking any questions until I finish my story, is that acceptable?"

Several people nodded, some muttered their assent, while some, such as Konan and Tsunade, merely smiled at him. Although the look in Tsunade's eyes was still sad, what spurred him to make a mental note of having a good conversation with the woman once this was all over. He'd probably need to grow a sake bar around here as well, just for her.

"Very well," Naruto inclined his head. "Some might know me as the son of Konoha's Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and his wife Uzumaki Kushina. Others might know me as the jinchūriki of the Kyūbi no Yōko, the Nine-Tailed Fox. Due to who and what I am, or better said: the entity that was sealed within me, an organization named Akatsuki targeted me. As you are all probably aware, this organization aimed to gather all the bijū with the intent to use them as a weapon that would force the world to stop waging wars. Born out of suffering and loss, their original goals might have been noble once… but unfortunately they had long since been corrupted, twisting the organization into something very, very dangerous.

To explain what went wrong, and who was ultimately responsible for this, we need to go further back in history. So far back in time that many of you will discard the story as a legend or mere fiction, but I assure you that what I tell you is the truth.

A thousand years ago, mankind was still unaware of the existence of chakra. In this era before the shinobi, many countries were involved in a war so horrible that it led to one woman, a princess, gaining the desire to end this senseless violence," he told, as he, Kurama, and Ajisai had agreed that leaving out the truth about the Ōtsutsuki clan was for the best. The news that there was some kind otherworldly race of superhumans would likely not fare well. "In order to achieve her goal, the woman consumed the fruit of the Shinju, the Divine Tree that grew as it gathered energy from our world. This princess was the first to wield the energy we all commonly refer to as chakra, and brought peace to the world. No army could resist her might, thus the nations were subdued for some time. Her name was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.

Kaguya's overwhelming power changed the world as they knew it, so mankind fell to its knees and worshipped her as a goddess- a falsehood that she eventually started to believe as well. While she ruled mankind, Kaguya had two sons, both born with a similar power she had. The historians amongst you might know the elder of these two brothers as the Rikudō Sennin. To clarify the importance of this man to our history: the Sage of the Six Paths is the one who taught mankind how to use chakra. Before he did such, however, he and his brother faced an enemy that was far superior to them in power.

Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, regardless of her original intentions, had grown weary of mankind's constant hunger for conflict. In spite of their worship, humanity failed to realize that Kaguya only wished for peace, and could not accept that her subjects continued their pointless strife. She saw herself as a goddess, and by 'divine right' she decided that mankind did not deserve to exist. In order to wipe out our race, she merged her powers with that of the Shinju and captured a great portion of the world's population. As she sought to replace them, rather than just creating a massacre, she changed the humans she had captured into mindless white creatures that were named Zetsu- beings without individuality or personality, aside from a sinister desire to obey Kaguya's each and every command."

Looking around, Naruto smiled softly when he saw various people, Shikaku for instance, recognize the description of White Zetsu.

"Many amongst you have been unfortunate enough to meet one of the White Zetsu, although I suspect only few realize that you have. The White Zetsu had the ability to perfectly imitate those whom they stole chakra from. As such, they have played a large role in the schemes of Akatsuki… but let us return to the time of their origins.

For whatever reason, Kaguya was weakened severely after she committed this horrendous act of warping humans into her puppets. In this tiny window of opportunity, her sons, enraged by what she had done, struck her down. However, since the Shinju itself was an undying entity, they found themselves unable to kill Kaguya. Because of this, the elder son, the Rikudō Sennin, sealed the creature which Kaguya had become, the Jūbi, within himself. Even though the Jūbi was immortal, the Rikudō Sennin found a way to divide its power into the nine bijū, while he sealed away the remaining husk of the Jūbi at his deathbed.

Yes, this is the origin of the bijū, creatures older and nobler than any of you would ever have thought. They are not the mindless demons you think they are… they are, for the lack of a better word, the children of the first and arguably greatest shinobi of all time.

As I mentioned earlier, after the defeat of Kaguya, the Rikudō Sennin spread the power he wielded over mankind, teaching man about the many ways chakra could be used. He even used his powers to grant certain individuals abilities that would reside within their blood, giving birth to the Kekkei Genkai that we still see to this day. He hoped that with this power, mankind would find a way to evolve beyond its previous condition. After all, he taught mankind the use of chakra so that they could connect to each other.

Sadly, his lessons were quickly forgotten, and the power he had granted to them was used for warfare rather than peace.

In his desire for peace, the Rikudō Sennin unintentionally made the fights even more gruesome. He taught his sons what he could, hoping that they could do what he could not, and bring peace to the world. Alas, there was one thing which the Rikudō Sennin had failed to see… in the instant that Kaguya had realized that her sons had defeated her, the short moment before she was sealed within her eldest son, the woman created another entity. As Kayuya had little time and power to spare, this 'third son' was a weak and fragile being, but like her it would never perish due to the passing of time.

This creature would later be known as Black Zetsu, an entity created for a singular purpose: to resurrect Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. It was the instigator of a conflict between the sons of the Rikudō Sennin. These two sons were the fathers of two famous clans. The younger was the first Senju, while the elder son was the first person to wield the sharingan- the founder of the Uchiha clan.

Even though it was relatively powerless, Black Zetsu was a cunning creature, and it made the elder son of the Rikudō Sennin the first victim of its schemes; though over the centuries to follow, many of the first Uchiha's descendants fell victim to Zetsu's manipulations as well. To Black Zetsu, the Uchiha were the perfect tools, as their sharingan gave them the power to control the nine bijū.

However, somewhere, somehow, Black Zetsu had made a miscalculation and lost its most valuable 'tools'. Thanks to Uchiha Itachi massacring his own clan, Zetsu was forced to find another tool for his plans. Unfortunately, I was that tool. It led to the death of my sensei and my teammates, and nearly my own demise as well. The sole reason for my survival is that Black Zetsu infused my mutilated body with the tissue of one of the countless White Zetsu that had been created by Kaguya, centuries before. Black Zetsu's plan succeeded, but only partly… I did gain the Mokuton Kekkei Genkai, which made me the worst enemy of any bijū, and I temporarily lost my memories as well, but I did not become the loyal subordinate Zetsu wished me to be.

Still, Akatsuki managed to capture one jinchūriki after the other, extracting the bijū, and sealing the poor creatures into the husk of the Jūbi. How they retrieved it, I do not know. I do know, however, that people had looked down at jinchūriki to such an extent that only few bothered to examine who had taken them… or why."

Some within the audience fidgeted slightly as his icy blue-eyed glare fell over them.

"In the end, I too fell to one of Black Zetsu's many traps, and lost a large portion of the Kyūbi's chakra. It was a large enough portion for Black Zetsu to awaken the Jūbi when the Hokage, along with a select number of shinobi from Konoha and Amegakure attempted to stop him," he gestured at Tsunade and Konan. "All others had, at that point, fallen for Black Zetsu's machinations. Using the numerous White Zetsu that fell under its command, Black Zetsu flawlessly infiltrated each and every organization, managing to divide and cripple every armed force in our world.

In the end, Black Zetsu succeeded in bringing back the Shinju at full force. The Shinju spawned, and it did what Kaguya ordered it to do: capture every living being and retrieve the chakra that she had lost. It trapped you in those cocoons, and lulled you into a sleep you were not supposed to wake from, while it slowly drained you of your chakra.

The sole reason you are still alive is that the Godaime Hokage and her ally Konan, the current leader of Amegakure, joined forces and disrupted the plans of Black Zetsu. The disruption nearly failed, as none were aware of the history behind the Jūbi, but their efforts were enough for me to survive the confrontation with Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. Without them, and Ajisai next to me, the Kyūbi would have been completely absorbed by the Jūbi, and I would not have been able to stop Kaguya's resurrection."

When Naruto fell silent for a moment, Temari stood up. "If I may ask, what did you mean by 'Kaguya's resurrection'?"

"And how did you end up being the jinchūriki of all nine bijū," Homura, one of the village elders from Konoha, spoke up. "Judging by the amount of chakra I can sense within you, your claim does not seem to be idle boasting, but-."

"And-"

When a third person tried to ask a question, Naruto put up his hand. "To answer the both questions, Black Zetsu sealed the Jūbi in me. Even at this very moment I am working at extracting the chakra from the nine bijū from it."

"Then why-"

"Calm down and let me explain," Naruto sighed. "As I told you all before, the Jūbi is a combination of powers. On one end it was the Shinju, the immortal God Tree that grew a thousand years ago. The other half of the creature was made up out of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. So… with the Shinju out here, capturing the world's population, I suppose you can guess who tried to take over my mind and my body."

"…but, that was a thousand years ago," Terumi Mei sputtered. "She couldn't still be alive, could she?"

"She tied herself to the Shinju," Naruto shrugged. "So by extension, she could not die due to the passing of time either. Her essence, her _ego_ , ended up within the husk of the Jūbi- the thing that was also known as the Gedō Mazō. As her sons sealed and divided the chakra of the Jūbi, she lost her power. But when Akatsuki, misguided by Black Zetsu's manipulations, managed to retrieve all nine parts of the Jūbi's chakra, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya also woke up. However, due to the actions from Tsunade, Konan, and Ajisai, the process of awakening the Jūbi was slightly rushed. I dare say that this was what saved me… as I assume that Kaguya was not at her full power when I faced her. Tell me, can you people sense my chakra?"

Several nods or other affirming gestures and words came from the audience.

"My current power, vast as it may seem, is limited due to my efforts to dismantle the Shinju. If I were to be serious, I estimate that my chakra reserves would at least triple in size," Naruto deliberately left out his ability to gather natural energy, as he didn't think it would be wise to give these people too much information. "As powerful as I might appear to you, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was even more powerful. It was only due to her arrogance that she underestimated a specific jutsu of mine, which led to the destruction of her ego. For all intents and purposes she can be considered dead, although her power- the power that she had stolen by eating the Shinju's fruit- still lingers in me.

This leaves me pondering what I should do, now that the responsibility of her power has fallen to me… obviously, I ruled out the option of turning every one of you into Zetsu, as she intended to do. I would, if possible, avoid the options of massacre and subjugation. Regardless, with the knowledge I have gained, as well as everything that I have observed, I have come to agree with both Kaguya and the Rikudō Sennin that things need to change. It is why I created my plans, together with the Kyūbi and Ajisai," he gestured at his fiancée. "Still, our plans would work out better if we had cooperation. It is why I called for this summit before I freed everyone from the grasp of the Shinju."

That little tidbit took a little while to digest, for those who were gathered.

Naruto had deliberately minimized the mentions of Kurama's influence on the plans they made, due to a point that Kurama had raised: the shinobi were afraid of the bijū. They would not be eager to trust 'the embodiment of malice'. What Naruto proposed would already create enough friction, without involving the misguided prejudices the shinobi had about the bijū. Yes, a certain amount of fear was deemed useful, but too much of it would derail this summit.

"Power does not confer to you the right to decide how we live our lives," one of the jōnin from Kumogakure growled. "Even if it is under the pretense of 'cooperation', what you truly ask for is our subjugation!"

"As someone who has lived in Amegakure for years, I find such a statement quite ironic," Ajisai remained calm, though her glare, with courtesy of the rinnegan, was enough to silence the easily unnerved jōnin. "The larger villages have always waged their wars on the soil of the minor nations that were stuck in between their borders. Each time our leaders attempted to negotiate in a peaceful manner, the answer was the same. No matter which of your villages we tried to negotiate with."

"Strength is important, but that alone does not determine the right to rule," Koharu, the village elder of Konoha, stated. "If one decides to rule merely by power, it would become a dictatorship. Though after all you have told us, I would not be surprised if you would fancy yourself a god now."

"Your wicked old tongue will truly get you in trouble one of these days," Naruto was slightly amused by the old woman. He had to give it to her: she hid her fear quite well. The fluctuations in her chakra were still obvious enough. They were far less obvious than the signs he felt in many others, what he saw as a testament of her former skill. "I have no interest in ruling anyone or anything. I don't want to become an Emperor, God, Supreme Kage, or whatever. What you do in your villages is up to you. My sole interest lies in what I already stated to be my goal: a more peaceful world."

"Then how do you intend to create such a world?" Tsunade pulled Koharu by her arm, roughly forcing her to get back on her seat. The Senju was genuinely curious as to what he truly wished to become. He had hinted that he and Kurama had talked about this quite a lot, but he had been unwilling to fully reveal the details of their plans. "You told me you did not want to return to your home village, that you wished to remain independent. Why?"

"Because, if I were to be partial, I would never be able to properly mediate in the conflicts you are going to create in the future," the Jinchūriki chuckled. "I have told you all that I stopped the Jūbi from destroying this world. The logical next step would be that I intend to stop you lot from continuing the Jūbi's work. With the incessant conflicts between your villages and nations, it would only be a matter of time until another 'Akatsuki' would rise."

"You can't blame us for the actions of those lunatics!" a Suna elder barked.

"I just did, and I will continue to do so," Naruto deadpanned. "The leader of Akatsuki, Pein, was someone who was born and raised amidst the carnage of the Second Shinobi World War. The actions of Hanzō of Amegakure and Shimura Danzō of Konohagakure pushed that boy to the point where he thought that causing immeasurable destruction was the only way to stop the endless conflicts. Hoshigaki Kisame," he gestured in the direction of the Kirigakure delegation, "was disillusioned when he realized that he lived in a world filled with lies. Kakuzu of Takigakure was originally a shinobi of unmatched loyalty, yet found himself betrayed by a village which threw him away for their own gains. Need I continue?"

"Did you not state that Zetsu was responsible?" Mabui, the chief representative of Kumogakure, questioned. "That he corrupted Akatsuki?"

"Zetsu warped its cause," Mifune, the leader of the samurai of Tetsu no Kuni, reminded her. "Many of its members were known long before Akatsuki emerged."

"Indeed," Naruto inclined his head slightly, thanking the stoic and, even to him, nearly unreadable man. It was obvious that the samurai was guarded, but he didn't radiate the same mixture of fear and anger as most others in the room did.

"Black Zetsu orchestrated the death of my parents, Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, it caused the fall of the Uchiha clan, it manipulated the organization Akatsuki for its goals, made friends and allies tear at each other's throats… Zetsu nearly brought the world to ruin. And its crimes are not only from recent times. Countless people have died throughout the centuries, including my own clan, all due to the actions of the Zetsu. And if we look closely, even Zetsu is not really to blame. After all, it was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya who was responsible for creating Black Zetsu the way it was," Naruto explained in further detail. "To return to the original question: yes, Zetsu corrupted Akatsuki. But Akatsuki did not raise or train any of its members. Akatsuki recruited the strongest missing nin available. Their members were already shaped by the villages they hailed from."

"That did not excuse their crimes," the Suna elder insisted. "Blaming the villages for their decisions is illogical!"

"Of course it is logical," Naruto frowned. It didn't feel like those gathered believed what he said. It was worrying. If they rejected his views, if they rejected the plans they had created… The gathered shinobi seemed to be afraid, fear guiding most of them- afraid of him forcing them to be subjugated to him, rather than hoping for cooperation. The shinobi world, of which these people were its representatives, needed to acknowledge its errors.

But if the majority rather stuck to its ways… they'd force his hand, and he would need to impose change in a more violent manner than he wanted to. ' _Still, my wishes are of little importance. Now is the time, now is the chance to change things. I can't allow myself to fail due to indecisiveness.'_

So he kept talking, in hope that some would be swayed. "People are shaped by their experiences, and their actions have been logical consequences of the lives they have suffered. I have a being inside me that has seen this process happen over and over again, for centuries. Through his words, I came to understand why the bijū looked down upon our kind. We are violent and shortsighted. Our children are spoon-fed with war and armed conflict, and with each generation the cycle of hatred would only escalate further. With each act of aggression eliciting an equally violent response, with the upbringing they had no one ever second-guessed their own part in that cycle. Everyone sees violence as a normal occurrence, after all. As for their elders… whether it is the narrow-minded grudges, the pathetic dependency on traditions, the delusion that only their actions are just, or pure and simple greed, I do not care. The bottom line is that mankind always continues to be in conflict."

"I can agree with that," Kurotsuchi said on behalf of Iwagakure. "First we had the Raikage murder our Tsuchikage, after which Kumo attacked us in 'retaliation' because we took down their treacherous leader, and then Konohagakure continued to backstab everyone in an attempt to destroy both of its enemies. I agree with Naruto: someone has to put a stop to this senseless violence."

"I concur," Temari, Kazekaze of Sunagakure, said bluntly. She completely ignored the sputtering elders behind her. "Especially now that Naruto has shown us how deep Zetsu's plotting went, we should all be able to see that this is the moment to let go of our old grudges and work towards a better future."

"As the Godaime Hokage of Konohagekure, I agree with the Kazekage and the Tsuchikage," Tsunade glared at her company, especially the two unhappy village elders.

"All of this sounds noble," Shikaku ignored his Kage. "Yet incredibly naïve as well. What makes you think that you can keep the peace, no matter how strong you are? Why would that peace last after you die of old age?"

"I am human. It means that, ultimately, I am flawed as well. Even though Kurama, whom you all know as the Kyūbi, is sealed within me, I still have flaws that are inherent to human kind. We are born neither good nor evil, but have the potential to do both. It is, however, the circumstances in which we develop and grow up that shape us. As such, I am as much a part of this cycle of hatred as you all. But we cannot think in terms of blame. Long before Kaguya walked this earth, our kind was already waging its wars. Kaguya tried to put that violence to a halt by changing mankind into mindless slaves, and she failed. The Rikudō Sennin tried to put that violence to a halt by entrusting mankind the tools and abilities that could lead to mutual understanding, and he failed. Both extremes of the spectrum led to failure, so I cannot have either complete faith or a complete lack of faith. We need to establish a middle ground.

I talked about neutrality, because I wish to establish a court. I will act as a judge here, backed by a millennium worth of experience from the bijū, backed by those I have yet to train in the art of senjutsu, and mediate in the larger conflicts that are yet to come. If I completely removed the necessity for conflict from mankind, we would all lose our humanity and become beings such as the Zetsu. If I, as the Rikudō Sennin once did, decide to teach you how to better your ways… you would only corrupt my teachings and continue the path of conflict.

Children do not grow up in a day. It takes years for them to realize that their place in this world cannot be taken for granted. And until their dying day they may seek to understand their path, though never find a true answer. Humanity, at large, will need more time to grow up than any single human. We are not naïve enough to believe that your grudges will vanish instantly. If the cycle of hatred could be broken that easily, better men and women who came before me could have done it.

Thus, we choose to restrict the violence in this world, and we will act as a neutral party that mediates in time of need. With the power of the legendary dōjutsu, the rinnegan, combined with my senjutsu and the might of the nine bijū, we could easily conquer the world. None would be able to withstand us. But that is not our wish. We wish for peace. And peace cannot be established by might alone," Naruto concluded. "As for how I plan to let this situation last beyond my lifespan: in due time I will take students who will be taught how to connect with nature, to become sages as I am. Beyond that, I will liberate the nine bijū, who will aid me and my successors."

"So you will not return our bijū to us?"

"Without the bijū the balance of power would be disrupted!"

"There will be no more need for jinchūriki. They serve no purpose if there is no war, nor would they maintain any balance. After all, they remain a neutral party. Beyond that, I would like to reiterate my point that the bijū are not tools or objects, but rather living beings like us. I dare say that they are even better than us, considering how they are far older and wiser," Naruto chided the woman from Kumogakure.

"You just expect us to accept that?!" a young kunoichi from Kumogakure, a fiery redhead, blurted out.

"Everyone has lost in the wars of the past," Ajisai spoke up clearly. "But together, let us take the first steps towards the creation of the foundations for an era of peace, so that the next generations may live better lives than we do."

"Yes," Naruto smiled at her. "Now… considering how we have gone through the boring parts of explaining the history behind the Jūbi, our history of warfare, and stating my goals and ideals…"

He slightly glanced at Ajisai, whose expression remained unchanged even if he felt the minute changes in the flow of her chakra. He doubted that anyone in this room would have noticed, as there was no living human able to sense chakra the way he did. Deep down Naruto felt just as anxious as her. They had gone past the introductions, explained the background, and stated his goals. Now it was up to them.

Would they choose cooperation? Would he have to force them to cooperate? Or would he have to dismantle the shinobi system in its entirety? He felt as if his innards were made out of ice, but after a short nod from Ajisai he knew he couldn't postpone this any longer. The support of her love, as well as Kurama's wisdom, gave him the courage to continue on. To put aside the fear he felt. Because, losing the momentum he had built up now would be just as disastrous as showing weakness, and Uzumaki Naruto would have rather died than allowed his own fears and hesitations to destroy the ideals he had.

He deliberately left a short silence for the gathered shinobi to process his words, while he took a moment to get a hold of himself.

"Shall we now commence by establishing a new set of laws?"

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

'Reformation'… I admit: the title is a pun on Sasuke's 'revolution'.

A large chunk of this concluding chapter is about politics. I suppose it isn't as exciting as a combat-oriented chapter, but at the same time, it formed a big plot-line within this story: the world of peace that Naruto was striving to create. Finding a 'proper' way to change the world was a goal I had from the moment that I first read the last chapters of the manga. The way Kishimoto refused to resolve any of the issues he had brought up left me disappointed. For instance, canon-Naruto never had a real answer to Nagato's questions, never even seemed to give it much thought.

There are so many things… but Kishimoto just kept it all the same- as if a little 'trust' and 'understanding' could really change the violent world of shinobi. If it had been that easy, Hashirama would have been successful. So no, I do not think that manga-Naruto ever created a lasting peace. Just like with Hashirama, the world would return to chaos and warfare the moment Naruto dies.

The most idiotic thing was perhaps that the likes of Orochimaru and Kabuto were allowed to live on. Worse, Orochimaru could just continue his experiments, while Kabuto was put in charge of an orphanage. I guess Kishimoto thinks that committing massacres should be rewarded? After all, Naruto suddenly admired Obito too, even if that bastard was responsible for the deaths of Minato, Kushina, Neji, and god knows how many more… In hindsight it is rather hilarious that Mizuki was put in prison for merely attempting to steal a scroll.

No, I wanted my story to end in a better way, a more realistic way. Not in some idealistic and naïve way, nor by making Naruto the ruler of the earth by naming him 'Supreme Kage' or whatever- both options seemed stupid after all that happened in this story. Having him becoming Hokage was way too much of a cliché. So I moved him to a neutral position, from where he can mediate in future conflicts and intervene when things seem to spiral out of control. As argued before: expecting the world to reach a state of complete peace would be unrealistic, and I think that it is unhealthy for mankind in the long term as well. In the solution I gave in this chapter, I created a way where future conflicts would be limited and the true excesses of human cruelty could be minimized- hopefully.

However, I am sure that there are many amongst you who eagerly contest my views. I'm well aware that I am not omniscient, nor did I consider or wish to discuss every possible variable of this impossibly complex equation. My solution- Naruto's solution- is imperfect in and by itself. It is simplified, thus fundamentally incomplete and therefore incorrect. Still, I believe it is less imperfect than the alternatives. Then again, this is why Naruto called for an assembly with the aim of forming a new set of laws- reforming the world- rather than going full-on dictator and arrogantly designing the 'new world' all by himself, through a forced revolution. That would go against Naruto's character, or at least what I envision him to be.

Anyway, enough rambling; I hope you have all liked my efforts to produce a good story! My thanks goes to **Illuminated** for beta-reading this chapter. Now, please **review** and look forward to the upcoming epilogue!

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


	28. Epilogue

_A note regarding Toneri and the rest of the Ōtsutsuki clan: I could have included them and dragged out the story, but I decided against it. I did briefly consider having Toneri show up in the epilogue in some way, but, if I recall correctly, Toneri's motivation to launch his attack was that mankind abused chakra. Now, with the changes that are made, I thought that it was pointless to bring him up, and chose to focus on other things._

 _As for the rest of the Ōtsutsuki clan: I do not ignore their existence as a whole, but considering how only one of them showed up in over a thousand years Naruto would not see them as an immediate threat. Aside from that in-universe logic, I admit that I simply consider the whole Boruto spin-off very underwhelming, and decided against including that plot into my story._

 _But enough of my ramblings! I hope you enjoy the final scenes of Asunder!_

* * *

 **Asunder**

 **Epilogue**

* * *

" _Be the change that you wish to see in the world."_

― Mahatma Gandhi

* * *

 _You who seek peace… do you understand the word? How would you define the concept of peace? Would you presume that an absolute peace could exist? If yes, answer me this: does the taller tree live in peace with the smaller ones that grow around it? No. It puts them in the shadow, while its roots dig deeper and drink with greater thirst. The world at large is filled with a never-ending competition for resources, resources that will always be limited. Mankind is no different from any other animal or plant. Every form of life competes for the right to exist. Peace, the utopia in which there is no conflict, remains an impossibility, an illusion, simply because humans always desire. It is wishful thinking, a fantasy, but reality shows us that in order to feed, to reproduce, to protect- like any other animal the human feeds on the energy it takes from other life forms._

 _And yet there is no other species that is capable of such excessive cruelty as ours. In our unnatural desire for peace, we commit acts which go against any reason or necessity. Our striving for peace leads to violence, as one always comes to the point where the other 'stands in the way' of their idea of peace. Opposing views on how the peaceful world should be have always led to wars._

 _All because we refused to accept our own natures, all due to our own ignorance, we continued this unending cycle of hatred where one act of violence gave birth to the next. The irony of this cycle is that the desire for peace did not slow the cycle, but instead kept it flowing. Peace only came to be when groups gathered and prepared for the next act of violence. It was merely temporary, because the hunger always continued. Our children need to be fed, our houses need to be paid, our cattle need to roam, all in the image of how we think we had to act. Our view on what is ours, what our rights are, our duty, our beliefs; this is the social construction we call 'reality'._

 _The perception of the individual is always limited. Looking only at our own needs, or those of the people closest to us, eventually always leads to a sense of animosity as there is always someone else who competes for the same things. Two men desiring the same woman, two farmers desiring the same fertile ground, two merchants desiring the same supplies, two countries claiming the same territory; there will always be conflict._

 _That does not imply that conflict is wrong. No, conflict is part of life, and there will be no growth without conflict. The muscle will only grow stronger when repeatedly pushed to its limits. The mind will not expand if not challenged with new questions. Without conflict, only a world of decay would remain. It would create a dead world, devoid of desires or dreams, where people would not need to feed or have to compete for any resource. It is why the longing for absolute peace creates a tension that inevitably leads to the next violent outburst._

 _Of course, a greater supply of resources would allow for a period where conflict wasn't needed, but eventually mankind would, as any other species, reproduce to the point where its population once again reached a limit. We need to accept that resources are always finite, just as the world has a limited amount of surface, sustaining only a limited amount of life. Eventually the number of humans would grow to a point where competition would once again become prevalent, until it reached a point where the competition once again leads to conflict._

 _This is the exact same thing as what the trees around you do._

 _If there would be more water, there would be more trees to drink it. But the amount of water that irrigates the grounds would place a certain limit on how many trees could exist from it. Increasing the amount of water would give the chance for more trees to drink, whereas a decrease would increase the competition to the point where only the strongest survived- or the luckiest._

 _Is that any reason to despair? No. No man or woman should despair at the face of reality. Accepting reality and learning the lessons it teaches might be difficult, yet it forms the only viable path to progress. Though, one should never be deluded in the belief that one can fully comprehend reality. Accepting reality, by itself, is already difficult enough to do. For that to happen, one first needs to challenge it- just like the child challenges the parent- in order to explore his or her place in this world. After all, if our perception is limited, how could we ever hope to gain wisdom by merely accepting what we see, without any critical thought?_

 _No, we needed change. Our world, our kind, has seen wars for too long. Each conflict only increased the hatred and sorrow. Should we have accepted that? My wife and I could have ignored the world and left it the way it was, retreated ourselves from the cycle of hatred and left mankind to its fate while we enjoyed our lives in peace. Such selfish things… we have power beyond any other, and as such we felt like we also carried the responsibility for making a choice: a choice only we could make, as none were foolish enough to challenge either of us, knowing the power we possessed._

 _We grew up in a world filled with pain and sadness, and while it made us strong, we also wished for no other to experience the same life. At first, the mightiest of our species desired peace, only to end in failure after failure. Our predecessors have explored several paths to make the world a more peaceful place, and failed. We learned from those failures. We realized how unnatural the desire for absolute peace was. Yet, at the same time war is an affront to nature just as well. Conflict is inevitable, yet our hatred escalated to the point where we aimed for the complete extermination of our enemies. No other species knows such cruelty. So… we offer you our wisdom. We gathered those who can guide you. We cannot bring peace, yet we can impose restrictions on the conflicts in the world._

 _To weed out the excesses of our cruelty, we need your help. To carry on our legacy, we founded this school. To sustain the peace, you, the future sages of this world, we offer you this record of our past. The keys to the truth. We can tell you about the past. About the Shinju, Kaguya, Zetsu, the Rikudō Sennin, about all these figures of myth and legend that have all dabbled with powers beyond their comprehension. No matter how vast their might became, they failed to understand how insignificant they still remained. They failed to comprehend their limitations. Nature itself is beyond the comprehension of any individual. The world is too vast for a singular being to understand it. And our planet is just one of many._

 _In truth, we are merely humble parts of the endless renewal of energy, the cycle of life and death, a temporal form of solidified energy, nothing more. But to you, our dear students, we offer this key to a door to a greater view. Use it to reach out to nature, so that you may learn from it, and transcend the barbaric origins of our kind. Use it to evolve beyond what we are._

 _Learn from the past, gain true awareness of the present, so that you may give birth to a better future._

* * *

"I'm impressed," Ajisai smiled with barely contained pride. "It seems I married not just the world's strongest shinobi, but also a philosopher," she teased.

"A woman as beautiful and wise as you deserves nothing but the best," he grinned cheekily. "Though I expect that I'll be rewriting it many times before I'm truly satisfied with the text."

Naruto had given her the scroll that he had been working on for a while. It was the first of several scrolls, this one being the introductory material, but other ones detailing the information they had on Kaguya, the Rikudō Sennin, the accounts of the history of mankind, and much more. There was even one on what little they knew about the Ōtsutsuki clan, although that one was not supposed to be shared with more than a handful of people.

"And you are still working on the scrolls that contain the training program that you and Kurama developed along with the toads?"

"Skill in senjutsu seems to be a minimal requirement, yes, but that is hard to put it into words," Naruto nodded. "Senjutsu isn't easily understood. Still, there has to be a way in which to offer them a way to see the world as we do. Your rinnegan cannot be passed on, not after how we brought the Gedō Mazō back to the moon. But I have good hopes that my power can be taught, especially now that the Toads have finally agreed to play their part in our little school."

"Gamamaru finally sent word?" Ajisai raised a brow. "Well, after nearly ten years…"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed. "That old geezer really should try to keep focused on things. Oh well, we already had Fukasaku and Shima who regularly help us."

It was hard to imagine that almost ten years had passed since the last open war.

Ten years ago, the world had been at the brink of destruction. They had only narrowly prevented Ōtsutsuki Kaguya from rising again. Since that day, they had worked tirelessly. Ajisai had learned to wield the rinnegan as proficiently as Nagato had before her, and because her body was more attuned to the legendary dōjutsu she was perhaps even better than her predecessor. Naruto, the wielder of the mokuton kekkei genkai, the one who mastered senjutsu, had led the nine bijū after he had liberated them. Together, they had guided, and at times forced, the shinobi villages to accept a new reality: that wars and conflicts were now settled through diplomacy.

Since that day, none of the hidden villages had openly borne arms against the others. Sure, there were disputes- more than Naruto and Ajisai wished to count- but none had evolved into the large-scale conflicts of the past. Then again, none of the villages were able to defy the Uzumaki couple. Especially after the Shinju, the God Tree, had stolen chakra from every living shinobi, the collective power of the hidden villages had diminished permanently.

Their power had decreased even more due to the fact that there were no longer any jinchūriki. The nine creatures now were free, though they were still, to some extent, attached to Naruto. With Ajisai's help, even Kurama was now able to roam the outside world freely, though he left a considerable chunk of his chakra in Naruto's seal. He, as well as the other bijū, had no desire to kill the person who had liberated them. Even Chōmei, who arguably had the greatest grudge against the Uzumaki due to the death of Fū, agreed to, and put his trust in, the plans forged by the last jinchūriki and Kurama.

Granted, in spite of their newfound freedom the nine were still cautious, and preferred to stick close. Though 'close' was a relative concept, considering how this area spanned both the former nation of Takigakure, parts of Otogakure, and the desolate wilderness around the Sangaku no Hakaba (Mountains' Graveyard) that lay in between. The area was vast enough for the nine to be able to live quietly. That meant that they could keep their distances from each other. Shukaku, for instance, could not stand Kurama. Likewise, Chōmei and Isobu had such conflicting personalities that they usually ended up squabbling just as much as the fox and the tanuki- squabbles that tended to lead to the destruction of many acres of land at a time.

' _Siblings…'_ Naruto shook his head as he thought about the rambunctious nine. Then thinking of disorderly children, "Aji-chan, where did Jiraiya-chan run off to?"

"Hm?" After reading through the scrolls that Naruto had compiled, she had returned to her own hobby. Ajisai usually spent a significant portion of her limited spare time on improving her skill in drawing and painting. Naruto had his hobby of redecorating landscapes, and spawning new buildings, and she had her drawings and paintings.

"Jiraiya-chan," Naruto repeated himself, idly wiping a spot of red paint from his wife's cheek.

"Oh, he's playing with Chōmei again," Ajisai smiled happily.

Usually parents would be more concerned when their four year old son went on his little expedition, but… well, they weren't exactly normal people. Chōmei, for some reason the being refused to explain, had taken a liking to their little purple-haired ball of energy. While extremely carefree in his regular behavior, Chōmei was very protective of little Jiraiya. Overprotective, one might even say.

'Butterfly-chan', as the boy called the enormous creature, once even used a bijūdama when a swarm of wasps had come too close to the child. Overkill had not even come close to being the right word to describe that situation. Still, little Jiraiya had loved the 'pretty fireworks' and Naruto had loved the chance at designing a new forest from the crater.

Alas, Ajisai had been less amused by Chōmei's actions. She, and every sane mother with her, didn't think it was a good idea for the tailed beast to throw around landscape-altering bijūdama when a three year old stood right next to it. Hence the reason why they trusted Chōmei with their son's safety: Chōmei knew better than to risk the rinnegan bearer's wrath ever again.

"Shouldn't you use a darker shade of purple for Jiraiya-chan's hair?" Naruto laid his chin on Ajisai's shoulder, looking at the portrait she made of her son.

"It's not finished yet," the orange-haired woman swatted Naruto with her paintbrush, giving her husband a purple nose (albeit still a lighter shade of purple than their son's hair). She giggled when he got back at her by wiping off his painted nose at her cheek. "Shouldn't you be going out now?"

"Eh?"

Ajisai nodded at the calendar.

"Oh, right. I was wondering why it had gotten so busy in the past hour," he absentmindedly rubbed his nose, what only caused the paint to spread further. "I thought it would be another problem that had to be settled, never knew it was already this time of year."

"Four times a year, and still you manage to forget about it," the orange-haired woman sighed. "Kurama is right, you are a scatterbrain."

"Awww not you too," Naruto whined. "What did I do wrong to deserve such a harsh treatment?"

"Blame it on the hormones," she smirked. "And you're to blame for that."

"Hey, it's not like you didn't enjoy every second of it," he smirked, gently rubbing over the bloated belly of his pregnant wife. "You're still planning on asking Konan?"

"Well, she did seem to be a bit jealous of Tsunade when we asked her to be Jiraiya-chan's godmother, even if she'd never say such a thing out loud, so yes."

"Ino and Suiren are both going to blow a fuse once they find out that we're having a girl," he shook his head, already wondering why he was so much more concerned than he was when Ajisai was pregnant with the baby they had named in honor of the man who had, in their opinion, truly rescued the world.

The Toad Sage's spirit had been liberated from the belly of the Shinigami, and they had vowed that his sacrifice would never be forgotten. In fact, next to the accounts written by historians, Daimyo, kage, or the various temples spread through the nations, Naruto had made the story of Jiraiya's life part of the study material for their yet-to-be-opened academy for senjutsu. The tale of Jiraiya the Gallant would live on, and show the future generations how much a noble heart could change the world.

Of course, Jiraiya would also long be remembered for another franchise of novels that remained as popular as it had ever been…

"They probably will, but you can worry about that at a later time. If you don't leave now you'll be late for your meeting, so shoo," Ajisai grinned, jokingly making hand gestures to chase her husband away. Her other hand was gently rested on her belly, atop of the girl whom she wished to carry her long lost sister's name.

* * *

"And, and, and thennn, then the mean stingies went all BOOOOM," a little boy with unruly and spiky purple hair told his story, with an enthusiasm that brought a smile to the face of the godmother who held the four-year-old in her arms. "Kaa-chan was a bit angry at Butterfly-chan for using a damsel, though."

"Really now, so he used a _damsel_?" Tsunade raised a single brow, her brown eyes shifting to gaze at the compressed fur of the Seven-Tailed bijū. She knew very well what the boy meant: a dama- _bijū_ dama.

"I might have gone overboard a little," the bug-like creature admitted awkwardly. While little Jiraiya was happily oblivious to it, Chōmei felt the full brunt of Tsunade's deadly glare. "Ajisai-sama already admonished me for it, in fact."

"I'm sure she did," Konan chimed in with her usual dry tone of voice, though she was visibly amused by the quiver in the bijū's voice. Apparently the young woman had made a firm impression on the usually happy-go-lucky creature.

"Erm, if you don't mind me asking, Tsunade-sama: why are you at this meeting?" Kurotsuchi, the Tsuchikage of Iwagakure no Sato asked hesitantly.

"Escorting the Hokage, of course," Tsunade had her eyes glued on her godson again, but answered the question nonetheless. "Also, I'm moving over to this place now that Asuma is completely adjusted to his new job.

"I was 'adjusted' to my job three years ago," the Rokudaime Hokage muttered indignantly. The Godaime just kept treating him like a kid, even if he had passed the age of forty and had two kids with Kurenai.

"Baa-chan is going to live with us?" before Tsunade could respond to Asuma's grumbling, a certain starry-eyed boy demanded her full attention. "Really?"

"Really really?"

"Really really."

"Really really rea-"

"I think she's clear enough, Jiraiya-chan."

"Tou-chan!" slippery like an eel, the four-year-old boy got out of Tsunade's grip and jumped into his father's open arms. Naruto, who had just risen from the ground like it was a completely ordinary thing to do, just laughed as he caught the enthusiastic child, ignoring the slightly pouting Tsunade. Tenten, who had gone along in order to guard her Hokage, giggled.

"So. did you and Chōmei blow up something today?"

"Nuh-uh," the purple-haired kid smiled mischievously. "We only teased 'Yuki-san a little."

"Not with the cattle-prod again, I hope?" Naruto felt a few drops of cold sweat in his neck when he saw his son nod happily. Gyūki, the Hachibi, did not like that particular item. And worse, he blamed Naruto for giving the boy such an 'instrument of torture'- even though Naruto had no clue how the boy had gotten his hands on the infernal thing. He had locked away the old scroll that once belonged to his son's namesake, fearing that his son had somehow gotten that prod out of it- and he certainly did not want his son to accidentally stumble upon the stash of porn the old perv had gathered.

Unfortunately for Naruto, little Jiraiya nodded happily.

"Oh well, I guess that means he'll be sulking for the next few months. Again. I thought we told you not to do that, Jiraiya-chan."

"Ehhhhm, I forgot?"

"You are not a very convincing liar," Naruto ruffled through his son's hair. "Chōmei, why don't you and Jiraiya-chan go seek out Kokuō? Kokuō's one of the few who can convince Gyūki to stop sulking."

"Ajisai-sama or yourself could talk to him as well," Chōmei proposed, knowing full-well that Naruto wouldn't involve his wife in this. She, too, blamed Naruto for the cattle prod.

"No can do," Naruto nodded at the assembled shinobi, who looked at the exchange with badly hidden glee. None doubted Naruto's power, yet there were a happy few who truly knew the man. And these people regularly met him. They knew that his son could literally get away with everything; all the child needed were his big innocent eyes and a slight pout, and Naruto lost.

"But Tou-chan…"

"Nope," Naruto put down his son, and gave him a gentle nudge. "Go play outside, 'kay?"

"Hmpf, fine," little Jiraiya grumped. No one fell for the act, though. In fact, the boy dropped the 'sad' act even before he reached the doors, and happily skipped away with the small form of Chōmei in tow.

"The brat is just as foolish as you were," Chōmei's brother chuckled with his deep voice. Just like his brethren, Kurama had gained the ability to compress his chakra and control the size of his body. How Ajisai had managed to do it was something not even the bijū themselves knew, but the fact remained that she changed an aspect of their chakra, and that this change enabled the nine to change the sizes of their bodies.

Well, Shukaku had been a unique case in this contrast, as Ajisai didn't need to change anything about his body. She merely needed to threaten him so that he used less sand to create his own body. Why? Well, Ajisai and Naruto had both been rather displeased that the One-Tailed bijū had trashed their flower garden, so Naruto couldn't say that Shukaku didn't deserve that scolding. Naruto suspected that Shukaku had shrunken down out of pure fear for his wife.

In an odd way, and in spite of the huge difference in age, Naruto and Ajisai somewhat functioned as the parents of the bijū.

"I suppose it would be hard to deny that I once acted like a four-year-old," Naruto grinned. "But thankfully I grew up into the amazing shinobi you see today."

"Tsk, big-mouthed fool," Kurama muttered. "These years of peace have made you airheaded again."

"I thought that you were happy about the lack of war, Kurama-san," the Mizukage, Mei Terumi, smiled.

"Me and my brethren are as much a cause of that peace as the bipedal is," the man-size fox huffed. "But let's start with the meeting. That tin-can from Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron) is here too, so everyone's ready."

"As you command, o' furry one," Naruto gave a mock-solute. He chuckled when the fox fumed, before switching to a more serious expression. "So, how are the Hyūga doing, Hokage-dono?"

"Unhappy," Asuma smirked. "But the entire caged bird system has been dismantled without further incident. Although, I think it would have taken a lot more time if you had not intervened."

"You should thank Baa-chan for that one. She's the one who trained Hanabi-chan and sent her to this village. Those stupid Hyūga elders trying to use the seal in order to force her into a marriage she didn't want, even though she was already living here, was just the excuse I needed to involve myself."

"They violated your neutrality by assaulting someone that fell under your protection," Temari agreed that his actions had been justified. "I bet Neji and Hinata are overjoyed."

"Hiashi stepped down as soon as the clan's laws changed, and happily made Neji his successor. Hinata still didn't want the position. But I'm sure Shikamaru already told you about that already," Asuma winked at the Kazekage.

"By that logic, Suiren should have told me about Neji-san," Konan remarked calmly, much to the embarrassment of her guard.

"Oh… great… that's going to be _another_ problem with the Hyūga," Asuma deadpanned. "And here I just heard that Hanabi elected to stay here, rather than going home?" he turned to look at Naruto.

"Yes, she has quite the fascination with cats, it seems. She and Matatabi are getting along surprisingly well," Naruto nodded. It was quite surprising, as Matatabi, much like Chōmei and Gyūki, had held a strong bond with her jinchūriki. While Chōmei was rather easygoing, Matatabi and Gyūki needed more time to deal with their losses. In fact, Gyūki still only barely tolerated humans, claiming that they reminded him too much of his time with Bee. So yes, when Matatabi had begrudgingly tolerated the inquisitive young woman, Naruto and the others had been surprised.

' _Perhaps… perhaps now that the Hyūga thing is solved, I could truly begin teaching Hanabi.'_ Naruto frowned a little at the thought. The younger Hyūga reminded him of her sister Hinata in many ways, but she was more confident and outgoing. Beyond that, she had already shown that she was able to break out of her clan's dogma, so her mind was flexible enough. If he told her what he had in mind…

" _ **You didn't learn to properly master senjutsu when you were a kid either, Naruto,**_ _"_ Kurama chimed in. While he had a manifestation in the 'outside world', he and Naruto were still linked.

' _Yeah, it's worth a shot. I'll ask Matatabi if she's willing to cooperate, later on. Without her, Hanabi would never have the necessary chakra reserves to gather enough natural energy.'_

" _ **Don't forget that the toads need to agree as well.**_ _"_

' _Gamamaru might offer some insights, but it'll probably take another decade for him to realize I asked a question. Oh well, I could ask Fukasaku and Shima for their opinions about Hanabi. I already intended to ask them when it would be wise to begin instructing Jiraiya-chan about natural energy.'_

"Naruto?" Tsunade waved a hand in front of the dazed Uzumaki. "Earth to Naruto?"

"Sorry, I kinda drifted off."

"As I was saying," the Senju said pointedly. "I decided to move to your village. While I trust Hanabi's skill as a medic, I want Ajisai to have the best doctors available."

"Why don't you just admit you wanted to be closer to your godson, Tsunade-sama?" Omoi, the Godaime Raikage, chuckled. "Or is it that you are on the run from debtors again? I heard that some even hired bounty hunters… would coming here mean that Konoha can't handle them? Is the balance of powers disrupted? Are we going to have another world war again?"

"Raikage-sama… your imagination is running rampant again," Kurotsuchi shook her head. The lollipop-chewing Raikage was undeniably an intelligent man, but his thoughts were still an odd thing to listen to- and usually utterly impossible to follow. Normally, Karui would be around to smack him back to his senses, but for some reason she hadn't been in his guard detail this time. Omoi seemed happier than usual, and Naruto knew that smile all too well. It was the one he had now that Ajisai was pregnant.

"We're happy to have you join our little village, Baa-chan. Jiraiya-chan will be ecstatic," Naruto smiled after clearing his throat. "But are you sure Ino and Shizune will agree?"

"Pff, they've got their own lives now!" the busty Senju huffed. "Ino is practically in charge of the village whenever Asuma isn't around, bullying around her poor husband, while Shizune runs a tight ship in Konoha's hospital. No, I'm no longer needed there."

"I'm quite sure neither would agree with that, Tsunade-sama," Tenten frowned. The bandaged blade on the young woman's back squirmed in agreement. "See, even Same-chan knows you're lying. Little Jiraiya has done what his namesake could never do," the sword wielder quipped.

"She's always welcome," Naruto chuckled. "I'm still not going to let you set up your own gambling den here, though."

The small village that Naruto created stood near the remnants of Takigakure, although after the rampage of the Jūbi there wasn't much left to recall that former village. Before Naruto or Ajisai had been able to come up with a name, the two had heard how their newly found village had been referred to as Uzushiogakure, and they had let that name stick. Not only because Naruto felt like it was a good way to honor his fallen ancestors, but also because it served as a reminder of why this neutral village was created.

This village housed the central court where the disputes between nations or villages were settled, where emerging conflicts were solved _before_ they reached the point of unnecessary slaughter: unnecessary slaughter such as the fall of the original Uzushiogakure no Sato, or the Uchiha massacre.

Tired of war, crippled by losses, and even further brought down by the chakra that every shinobi lost to the Shinju, the hidden villages had agreed. Not that they were happy, especially the older generations, but they had cooperated and joined Naruto and Ajisai in the creation of a set of laws which were designed to loosely maintain the current status quo.

It was no perfect peace, as there were still quite a few conflicts around the world, but it was easily better than how they had used to live. Of course, when these laws had been set in motion there had been an influx of missing nin who opted for violence rather than peace, but in general it was nothing the hidden villages themselves couldn't handle. Even a feeble attempt to set up a new hidden village had been shot down with ease. And whenever things threatened to get out of hand, Naruto and Ajisai were easily capable of crushing whatever threat there was.

This was how Naruto hoped that his future senjutsu students, the future generations of sages, would maintain the peace. The bijū had all the might necessary, but they would easily lose the fragile connection to mankind. Their centuries of experience and their completely different physiology meant that they often had trouble understanding the issues of the short-living humans. The sages would mediate between the bijū and mankind, just as much as they would mediate between the many factions and nations of humans.

Those who listened to the voice of nature would come to play a vital role, and Naruto hoped that Hanabi and little Jiraiya would be the first students to prove that point; and he had yet to start searching for promising students in the other nations.

"It has been two years since the last incident, one might almost grow complacent," Mei said jokingly. "It seems that my generation, the one that fought wars and civil wars, that has witnessed and committed atrocities of many kinds, should take a step back. It is no secret to any of you that I have been grooming my successor for several years now. And now… now it feels like the right time to make Chōjūrō the Rokudaime Mizukage."

"Why are you putting this forward in this meeting?" Temari raised a single eyebrow, surprised that the most experienced kage amongst them would step down. "The laws we established stated that we each may appoint our own leaders."

"I am aware that it is, technically, an internal matter, Kazekage-sama, but still I felt like it was the proper thing to do," Mei smiled. "Is there any amongst you who would oppose Chōjūrō's appointment?"

None spoke up, so Naruto spoke up: "It seems none of us disagree. I honestly had not expected that anyone would, I admit. Chōjūrō's strength already made him a suitable candidate, and his calm personality only makes him more suited to take a leading role in the peaceful world we envision."

Yes, the future generations of sages would play a pivotal role in the world, but so did the leaders of the hidden villages and the various Daimyo. Everything would go so much smoother if they, or at least the majority of them, cooperated.

* * *

He smiled as he saw his wife talk with an uncharacteristically bashful Konan. By the looks of it, the leader of Amegakure had not expected to be asked to become the godmother of the yet-to-be-born daughter of Ajisai and Naruto. The woman was so taken aback that Suiren and Tenten began teasing her.

Sitting atop the head of the Jūichimen Kan'on, Naruto momentarily closed his eyes and extended his senses. The Kan'on always had an inexplicable affinity for suffering, one that Naruto had first thought to have stemmed from Kurama's chakra. Kurama had denied that, although even the fox was uncertain. The two of them had eventually come to the hypothesis, even if it was impossible to properly test said hypothesis, that the Jūichimen Kan'on, just as Hashirama's Senju Kan'on, had somehow had its origins in the natural energy that had to be used to form the statue.

From his elevated position, he could look down upon the village he and Ajisai had created. It was peaceful and quiet, inhabited by around a hundred souls, but more importantly: it was home. After everything they had gone through, this oasis of peace was everything they could ever wish for. It was a perfect place to raise their children, as well as a perfect place to establish their academy. Plus, he could live here without the stupendous amounts of paperwork he would have had if he had become a kage. He didn't even have a Daimyo to whom he needed to answer.

A loud yawn resounded. Next to the massive wooden statue lay the uncompressed form of the infamous Kyūbi no Yōko. When he didn't need to be inside buildings, Kurama generally preferred to be his gigantic self. This was actually fine with Naruto and Ajisai, considering how the lazy bijū slept most of the time, causing far less havoc than his brethren.

Kurama, the being who was able to sense negative emotions, and Naruto, standing atop a statue that heard the voices of the suffering; they made an unusual combination. However, the true peculiarity was the fact that they both could extend their senses and feel at ease. Sure, the murmur of suffering and hatred remained, and would likely always continue, but the world had grown far more silent to their senses. There were countless reasons for suffering, after all. From common illness to heartache, from a child with a hurt knee to the victims of war, there were more causes than Naruto could bother to think about.

Still, the fact that the world had grown a bit more silent made him proud to the point that he reveled in this relative silence for a prolonged time.

One eye cracked open, and Kurama moved his arm to budge the wooden statue at his side. While the force behind the 'nudge' could easily have taken down a regular building, it did little more than shake up the Kan'on a little. It was enough for Naruto to pay attention to his surroundings.

"I see, it must be time," Naruto smiled.

Not even moving a single finger, Naruto mentally ordered the Jūichimen Kan'on to sink back into the ground. Just in time to catch the little messenger in his arms.

"Toouuuu-chan," Jiraiya whined, the boy's blue eyes sparkling. "Baa-chan is going to live doornext!"

"It is pronounced 'next door', Jiraiya-chan," the blond chuckled. "And yes, Baa-chan is going to stay with us."

"And Kaa-chan has foodsies."

"…you're not even trying to say it right, are you?"

"But Butterfly-chan said it's called foodsies," the boy tilted his head slightly. "And I am hungry!"

"Then we shouldn't let Kaa-chan waiting, should we?"

"RAMEN!"

The warcry of the two ramen-addicted Uzumaki made Kurama grimace. Why couldn't they just let him sleep? Naruto teasingly flipped him off. The world was perfect, his life was perfect, and no lazy fox was going to tell him otherwise!

* * *

 **Author's notes**

* * *

Honestly, I do not know whether to feel proud or saddened now that I managed to end this story. This all started as I wanted to write something that was a bit easier to deal with, as I was writing my Master's thesis at the time and my other fics consumed too much time and energy. Oddly, 'Asunder' grew out into a rather complex and weird story despite my initial intention to keep things simple.

Still, in spite of how unusual the story turned out to be, it is a story I greatly enjoyed writing. I hope you have enjoyed reading it just as much! At this point I can only say thanks. Thank you, who have read this story. Thank you, who have left reviews. Thank you all for your encouragements and feedback. Thank you **Illuminated** , for all your effort in polishing this story. And thank you **Fuyuriku** for exposing those last few typos that managed to slip through. All that remains now, at least for those who don't follow my other stories, is for me to write those dreadful last two final words:

 _The end._

* * *

 **-Ziltoid-**


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